Santa's New Elf
by sassybutt32
Summary: Jack Frost's ex elf has found her way to the Pole and Santa lets her stay there. Bernard allows her to stay with him so she can learn how the Pole works. Maybe a budding romance will form? BernardOC! R&R plz! rated T just in case. better then it sounds!
1. Prologue

**A/N:**

**hey! this is the beginning of my speical Holiday story :) I've been wanting to write one and I'm writing this one in honor of Bernard (everyone's favorite elf! hehe) I hope ya'll like this story. it'll be my fastest written story because I plan to have it finished either by Christmas Eve, Christmas Day or at least by the end of December. I hope you enjoy and review! :) **

**i do not own The Santa Clause. If i did Bernard would have been in the 3rd movie :P **

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_**Chapter one: Prologue**_

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_Jack Frost walked through the doors of his home, his white suit perfectly clean and his sleek brown hair brushed back, a huge grin never leaving his face as he walked down the hall of his icy home._

"_Trish! Trish where are you?" he called happily down the hall. A tap of footsteps could be heard and a slightly short girl, looking in her mid to late teens, ran out of one of the rooms and over to Jack. _

_She gasped, "Sir! What happened to you?!" She asked. Jack chuckled, "Now, now, no need to worry! I like the way I am."_

_She raised an eyebrow, "You're…you're defrosted." she made clear. He nodded. "I'm changing my game! I've realized my mistakes and starting anew! You're free to go Trish!" he said happily._

_Trish stared at him, bewildered, "Really? After 1,500 years of being your elf I'm free to go?! Seriously?!" she asked. Jack nodded, "No hard feelings?" _

_She stared at him skeptically, before nodding, "Alright. But don't come looking for me when you need an assistant again." she called nonchalantly as she walked past him to the front door. _

_As she closed it behind her an important thought came to her head; where was she going to go? _

_As she walked and walked farther and farther away from Jack Frost's home, not looking back, she found a small town._

_She was able to talk one of the shop owners a deal, she got a small lodge outside of town and a job at his shop. It worked out and she was able to live on her own. But every night as she walked in the deep snow back to her little lodge, she felt a strange pull in the pit of her stomach just North of her home. _

_She didn't know what it meant, but ignored the feeling and kept living her life until the town's people realize she isn't getting any older and she'd have to leave. _

_After three years of living in peace and the towns people not noticing her unchanging features, she finally figured out what that feeling was she'd get._

_It was a few days before October and she was sitting on a small sofa in a very small lodge. Their was a closest and a bathroom, while the bedroom, living room and kitchen was all one big room. No bed to be found since she slept on the sofa and their was no kitchen table, only a coffee table in front of the sofa and fire place. _

_For those three years, she lived so poorly. No television to at least know the weather (like it would ever change) and their was no heater, only a fire place and the stove. The only thing in huge supply was the stack of books she had taken from the town's small library without anyone noticing._

_The fire was going when she heard a knock at her door. She didn't know who it could be. The only two people she could think of who would come see her was her boss at work who checked up on her, saying she reminded her of his daughter, and Jack Frost, who she hadn't seen since she left._

_She walked over to the door and opened it, revealing a tall and beautiful woman who wore a golden headdress that looked like it was made of leaves, and dark brown wavy hair fell down and past her shoulders. _

_Another thing that shocked the young girl was the woman standing in her doorway was wearing a dress with a purplish colored long sleeve top and a long skirt that looked like it was made of fall leaves and even twigs. No heavy coat or scarf at all. _

"_Excuse me, but might I come in from the cold? Only for a minute?" the woman asked. _

_Trish blinked and nodded her head, "Y-Yeah! Come in, get out of the cold!" she said, moving out of the way for the woman to come in. She had to duck to walk through the door so she wouldn't hit her head and smiled at Trish as she closed the door._

"_Thank you very much. You're very kind. Not many people would let stranger in at this time of night." she said. Trish nodded, "I've learned over time to be more trusting then worried." _

_The woman nodded and glanced at Trish's pointed ears that showed through her long brown hair. Trish noticed and covered them her with hands, "Um, I have some sort of disorder, if that's what you're wondering about my ears." she said quickly. _

_The woman shook her head, "It's alright, you don't have to lie to me Trish." she said. Trish walked over to the coffee table and picked up her glass of warm milk, before she realized the woman called her by name when she hadn't told her, "Um, how did you know-"_

"_You're an elf, aren't you?" the woman asked, a small smile on her face. Trish stared at her wide eyed. _

_The woman laughed, "You don't have to look so surprised. I'm Mother Nature, Trish." she explained, taking a seat on the sofa._

_Trish thought for a moment. Jack Frost had told her many times about the Council of Legendary Figures, describing all of them when he'd gotten bored and she was making copies of his life-sized cut outs of himself. She remember him describing Mother Nature and the woman before her did look a lot like his description. _

"_Wow, I never thought I'd meet you in person, Mother Nature." Trish said, sitting on the edge of her coffee table. _

"_Why are you here, Ma'am?" Trish asked. Mother Nature smiled at her, "I'm happy to see that you are well, Trish. But you don't belong here." _

_Trish raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?" _

"_Have you heard of Santa Claus?" Mother Nature asked. Trish nodded, "Jack Frost wanted to take over Christmas and he kinda was envious of Santa Claus I guess. But I've never thought much of Santa. I've never even met him." she explained._

_Mother Nature nodded, "I expected as much." she mumbled. "You're an elf Trish. And I promise you if you go to the North Pole you'll have a warm home, many friends, and a most happy life. Much unlike when you lived with Jack before he was defrosted." she explained._

_Trish shook her head, "I tried going their once four hundred years ago though! I used the magic I had but couldn't get there, that's why I've been stuck with Jack until three years ago." she explained._

_Mother Nature shook her head, "I know you can do it Trish. You've been having a feeling when you're walking home in the evening, right? A feeling that pulls you to the North?" she asked._

_Trish thought for a moment, "No…no way…that can't be a feeling of going to the North Pole." she said in disbelief. _

_Mother Nature stood up, "It is, Trish. You must go there. All the legendary figures agree that you are meant to be there. The only one who doesn't know yet is Santa himself. You can get there Trish. I believe in you." and with that Mother Nature vanished into thin air. _

_Trish stood up abruptly and stared at the spot Mother Nature had stood, now only a small pile of dust was left of her. _

"_This can't be happening." Trish mumbled. She felt that tugging feelings in her stomach again and she stomped her foot in frustration and left out a loud shout while she walked over to the coat rack by the door and threw on her wool, long jacket and her red scarf._

_She took her bucket of cold water and threw it on the fire, making sure it was out completely and then walked over to the center of the room._

_She had used her magic to go from place to place many times, but she knew when she tried to go to the North Pole it would never work. But she believed Mother Nature and focused all her attention on North Pole. _

_She had no idea what to picture. She put together all the descriptions Jack Frost had given her and also from the Christmas movies she saw when she lived with Jack and in the books she had read. _

_She tried, but was still in her home. She tried again, closing her eyes tight and clenching her fists. She opened her eyes: nothing. _

_She finally gave up and walked in to her kitchen, throwing a thermos of hot chocolate and a bag of sugar cookies her boss's wife had given her into a sack and threw it over her shoulders as she walked out of her home and not looking back, followed her gut feeling like it was some compass up the mountain and headed North._

_She could only hope the North Pole was closer then she hoped. _

_**.**_

_**To be continued...**_

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**A/N:**

**i hope you liked the prologue(: **

**time to move on to chapter two? Give it a little longer shot, eh? hehe**

**sorry it kinda moved a lil fast. it is a lil chap so you can catch up and understand what happened. anyways...**

**_review_/alert/fave/all that jazz!!(((: **

**Tootles!**

**~~~Taylor**


	2. A New Elf

**A/N:**

**here is the offical first chapter of my Santa Clause/BernardOC story! :D a little longer then the prologue and I'm proud of it! **

**the next chapter will be posted 2 to 3 days at a time, a little longer then any of my other stories when they were updated. but thats cuz i want to write this story by the end of December or even Xmas(: **

**i do not own The Santa Clause. If I did Bernard would have been in the 3rd movie and I would have made a movie all about Bernard(((: hehe**

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_**Chapter One: A New Elf**_

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In the radar room in one of the towers of the workshop, a small group of elves sat in chairs, poking buttons and watching the screens in case of a plane.

One of the elves, a boy named Rick, noticed something on his radar. "Hey, I think I have something." he called.

Another elf walked over to him and looked at his screen. Rick pointed to a small yellow speck that was still outside of the candy cane colored pole that signaled they were at the North Pole, but it only came up when Santa left and came back on Christmas Eve.

"What is the world is that?" The other elf mumbled. Rick looked at him, "Maybe we should call the big guy up to figure it out."

**.**

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"Curtis, no way!" Bernard said for the millionth time. Curtis and Bernard were walking to Santa's office and Curtis has asked Bernard if he would consider going on _another_ vacation like he did three years before.

"But it was so exhilarating being head elf that year! _Please_ Barnard! You said yourself you enjoyed visiting the world and checking in on the children and making sure they were really nice and not pretending, remember?" he asked.

Bernard sighed, "Curtis, no! The last time I was _forced_ to go on break because I had been working straight for over a thousand years! And it was nice but I hated being around that many weird humans so long! And After what happened with Jack Frost I _won't_ be leaving for a while."

Curtis sighed and a small pout showed on his face as they kept walking down the hall. But before they could walk into Santa's office, Santa was already walking out and a little, rosy cheeked and blonde haired toddler was standing behind him, following like a little duckling.

"Santa, just the man we wanted to see!" Curtis said happily. Santa shook his head, "Not now you two. The elves up in the radar room found something and can't figure out what it is." he explained, not stopping to talk.

Curtis picked up Buddy Claus and followed close behind Santa and Bernard.

"Do you think it's a plane, sir?" Bernard asked. Santa shook her head, "The boys said it wasn't moving and very small. It was moving at a slow pace ten minutes ago, they said, but then just stopped at the edge of the entrance to the Pole."

"An animal, maybe?" Curtis asked. Santa shook his head, "No, no. An animal wouldn't just stay there for ten minutes, unmoving."

Barnard paused, "What if it's a human on foot, sir?" he asked. Santa shook his head again, "Impossible. There is no human life for miles south of the North Pole. A human wouldn't last in the cold up there for that long, especially on foot."

Bernard opened a door and let Santa walk in up a flight of stairs, and then Curtis and Buddy then he walked in himself.

They walked into the dark radar room and over to one of the stations. Santa leaned down and supported his weight on his hand that was on the radar table, "Alright, what have we got?" he asked.

Curtis and Bernard walked from behind Rick's shoulders. Rick shrugged, "I don't know, Santa. I can't figure it out."

Santa walked over to the wall where the controls were and pressed a red button that said "Pole" under it. A small screen lit up above them when he pressed a button next to the red one that was labeled "Camera" and everyone in the room watched in complete silence.

The camera was hidden in the little clear ball that was on top of the candy cane colored pole and the screen showed a dark, snow covered land and it grew taller and taller until the pole was at its full height.

Santa moved a small joystick around that controlled the camera and looked at the snow for whatever was there.

Santa was the first to stop it, "It's a person!" he gasped. Bernard ran up and looked closely at the screen, "I thought you said that was impossible!"

Santa zoomed in at the figure lying down in the snow, face first. He noticed the long hair, "That looks like a girl! Send someone up there right away and get her out of the snow!"

"Sir, the S.O.S!" Curtis warned. Santa shook his head and headed to the stairs, "I won't let some poor girl freeze to death because of the S.O.S!" he said.

Barnard followed quickly and so did Curtis and Buddy. They ran down the stairs, down one of the halls that said "Stables".

A group of elves followed the group into the sables to see what the fuss was over. Santa walked over to Comet and let him out of his stall, "Alright, Comet, we're going on a little rescue mission." Santa said as he threw his leg over Comet and took a seat on his back.

He grabbed Comet's reigns and they flew off and up above the North Pole to the exit.

As Santa and Comet left the North Pole and flew out into the world above, the wind was so hard Comet had to struggle to fly forward.

They landed next to the candy cane pole and Santa started looking around desperately for the girl.

He found her on the south side of the pole and quickly picked her up and brought her back over to Comet. He threw is leg back over Comet and placed the girl in between him and Comet's head, making sure she was secure and wouldn't fall off during the flight back.

Comet took off and as they re-entered the Pole, Santa pushed some of her hair out of her face and saw her pointed ears. Santa was shocked and as Comet flew back into the stables Santa jumped off as fast as he could and ran over to Bernard and Curtis, "She's an elf!" he made clear.

Bernard looked at the new elf whose nose was bright pink and lips a purplish color, "I don't recognize her."

Santa quickly walked out of the stable and down the hall, with a dozen of elves following behind him.

"Santa, if she's an elf why didn't she use her magic to get back in here?" one of the elves asked him.

Curtis butted in and started walking between Bernard and Santa on Santa's right side, "Simple. A year after Scott, or now Santa, joined us we decided to have and ID system. Any magical figure can not enter the North Pole unless we have them in the system. To be safe, of course." Curtis paused, "Santa, this girl could be a bad elf!"

Santa started walking down the stairs of the workshop. Santa looked down at this girls face, "She doesn't look bad, but just in case, we'll have one of our top elves watch her." he said as they ran out of the toy shop, across the lot and over to the hospital.

"Dr. Hismus!" Santa called as he entered the small hospital room. The short, red haired doctor walked through the one of the other doors and then turned around and called in two of his nurses, "What happened to her?" he asked, having Santa place her on an examination table.

"She has been out in the cold right above the North Pole. We have no idea for how long she's been out in the cold though." Santa explained.

Dr. Hismus nodded and the nurses shooed all the elves out of the small room, though Santa, Bernard, Curtis and Buddy stayed.

"Sorry Santa. But you all have to go to. We need as much room as we can get; this girl might have serious frostbite." Dr. Hismus explained, pulling on a pair of gloves.

The group all piled out of the room and Santa took Buddy out of Curtis's hands.

"Santa, who is going to keep an eye on this girl incase she is a bad elf?" Bernard asked. Santa paused and started to think, "Bernard, didn't you say the other day that we were ahead of schedule?" he asked.

Bernard smiled, pleased that Santa remembered, and nodded his head. Santa smiled and nodded, copying Bernard, "Well then, you can spare the time. You'll watch her and find out who she is and what she's doing here." Santa said, turning to leave.

Bernard shook his head and followed after Santa and Curtis, "W-W-Wait! Santa, I'm the head elf! I can't be babysitting some girl when we're less then three months away from Christmas!"

Santa pointed to Curtis, "That's why Curtis will watch over the workshop until you're done watching her. And we are ahead of schedule, like you said, so I'm sure nothing will go wrong. Besides, you're my most trusted elf. I'm leaving this to you."

Bernard clenched his teeth, why did the elves have to be ahead of schedule this month? The last thing Bernard wanted was to leave the toy shop in the hands of Curtis! Hopefully Santa will be monitoring Curtis while Bernard was watching the unknown elf.

Bernard finally nodded, "Alright Santa. When do I start baby-" Bernard stopped, "_Watching_ the girl?" he asked. Santa half chuckled, "Now. Get to work." he said, walking into the toy shop with Curtis, leaving Bernard outside.

Bernard huffed, "I didn't work my butt off for nine hundred years to watch some girl! I'm the head elf; Curtis should be the one watching her." Bernard mumbled as he walked over to the hospital again and took a seat on the bench outside.

After a while Curtis sent Abby out to give Bernard his light brown coat and red and green scarf so he wouldn't get cold, and a cup of hot chocolate.

After a while Dr. Hismus walked out the doors and smiled when he saw Bernard, "Ah, well she had a little frost bite on her hands and feet but she's fine now. We moved her into another room in the back. She'll be fine in a few days but she should stay here." he explained.

Bernard nodded, standing up and walking over to him, "Did she have any ID? Did she wake up long enough to tell you her name? Anything?" he asked.

Dr. Hismus shook his head, "She woke up ten minutes ago but only opened her eyes for a second then fell back asleep. You can go see her if you'd like."

Bernard sighed, "I don't really have a choice." he said, walking in with Dr. Hismus to the back rooms where patients were put after being operated on.

Dr. Hismus pulled a curtain back and the said elf was lying in the bed, covered in two full blankets and a warm wet rag on her forehead. Her jacket, scarf and all her other clothes they took her out of to put her in the hospital gown were folded nicely on a small table at the foot of the bed.

Bernard walked over and took a seat in the armchair that was next to the bed. He placed folded his hands on his lap and stared at the girl who was fast asleep.

"Not even a name?" He asked the doctor again. Dr. Hismus shook his head and walked out.

Bernard leaned his elbow on the armrest and his cheek in his hand and stared at the girl some more. He wished she'd wake up so he could at least get her name and why she was there and why she wasn't a registered elf.

The lights started to fad from the windows and Bernard knew it was getting late. _I should probably head home and come back tomorrow to see if she wakes up. _He thought, standing up and stretching his arms over his head.

"Ugh," he heard her groan.

Bernard looked at the girl and saw her pulling her arm out from under the blankets to rub her eyes.

"Hey," Bernard said quietly so he wouldn't startle her.

She groaned again and rubbed her other eye, "Am I dead?" she mumbled. Bernard raised an eyebrow, "Why would you say that?"

She finally opened her eyes, showing off bright blue eyes, "The-The last thing I remember is digging for the North Pole and then it got all black. I must have died, right? And you're some kind of angel?"

Bernard chuckled, "No. Dig for the North Pole? Anyway, I'm Bernard, the head elf here at the North Pole."

At the words '_North Pole' _the girl shot up and sat up in her bed, "Seriously? I actually made it to the North Pole?" she asked.

Bernard nodded, taking back his seat in the armchair, "Yeah. Santa brought you down here himself. Why are you here, anyway? We only allow good magical beings, even Jack Frost before he was nice, into the North Pole for safety reasons. Are you bad because if you are I'm going to report you." he explained.

She giggled, "_Funny_. Mother Nature told me to come here. Said I'd be happy and have friends and a home. Before that I was Jack Frost's elf."

"Whoa, _Jack Frost's_ elf? But he always said he wanted an elf. Why would he always ask for an elf if he already had one?" he asked.

She rolled her eyes, "The old Jack Frost was kinda selfish. But now he's good so I doubt he's asking for any elves anymore. That's why he let me go. Then I was living on my own until Mother Nature found out about me and told me I should come here."

Bernard let this all in. So…she _wasn't_ a bad elf? She was there because Mother Nature told her to? Bernard had his doubts.

"I don't fully believe you. I'll have to tell Santa to talk to Mother Nature and maybe even Jack Frost about you. But I need your name."

The girl's eyes widened, "Oh, how dumb of me. I forgot to introduce myself. So sorry. My name's Trish. It's very nice to meet you Barnard." she smiled.

Barnard nodded, "Likewise. It's getting late and I should try to catch Santa before the shop closes. I'll be back tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Trish asked. Bernard nodded as he started to walk to the door, "Santa wants me to watch you."

"I'm not a baby." Trish made clear.

"Until we figure out if you're really good or bad, we'll be the judge of that." Bernard said as he walked out the door.

**.**

_**To be continued…**_

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**A/N:**

**thats it for chapter one. **

**i hope you liked it! :D **

**I tired to make Curtis a little childish (like he was in the second movie. even tho he _seemed_ to mature in the 3rd) and you cant flame me for Barnard being bad about watching Trish instead of working around the shop. He's the HEAD ELF!! and its LESS then 3 months till Xmas so duh he'd wanna focus on his job and not watch over some unknown elf. hehe (kinda reminds me when he was all annoyed at Scott in the first movie.) **

**anyways, i hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading and i hope you stay tooned for the next chapter!**

**_review_/alert/fave/all that jazz. **

**tootles!**

**~~~Taylor(:**


	3. Introductions

**A/N:**

**hey guys! I'm back. **

**I offically have 27 days until my deadline for this story is done. I will be working my butt off writing so i finish this story before December ends!! eeeaaayyy!! I'm so excited!! hopefully I'll be able to meet my deadline!**

**i mentioned Judy and her "boyfriend" (or that dude shes seeing in wrapping. i came up with a name for him tho haha) in this chapter and Mrs. Claus (Carol) comes in in this chapter too(: yay**

**haha. ok I'm gonna let you read now. enjoy!**

**i do not own The Santa Clause. If i did (1) Bernard would have been in the 3rd movie and (2) I'd have made a whole new Santa Clause movie about Bernard, with or without Tim Allen :P haha**

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_**Chapter Two: Introductions**_

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Bernard ran as fast as he could back to the toy shop and up to Santa's office.

He knocked multiple times before the door creaked open and Buddy stuck his head out, then Mrs. Claus came running over and opened the door for Bernard, "Hello Bernard." she smiled, bouncing the little baby in her arms.

Bernard didn't smile too big, and nodded to Mrs. Claus as he walked in and then ran up to Santa who was sitting at his desk.

"Santa, she's woken up." he said bluntly. Santa looked up for the list, "Really? Did she tell you anything?" he asked.

Bernard nodded, "Her name is Trish. She was Jack Frost's elf until he became nice, then I'm supposing she lived on her own until Mother Nature found her and told her to come here. But I'd check with Mother Nature and even Jack Frost, just in case sir." he explained.

Santa nodded and made a small grunting noise as he started to look for something on his desk, "I know I had Mother Nature's number somewhere…" he mumbled.

Bernard shook his head, "You don't have to call now, Santa. Their will be plenty of time tomorrow. The days been long. You should rest."

Santa nodded, "Right, right. I'll rest after checking this list!"

Bernard chuckled and nodded as he said his goodbyes to Santa, Mrs. Claus and Buddy while he walked out of the room.

**.**

**.**

Trish sat up in the hospital bed the next day, leaning on a dozen pillows and staring out the window across the room at the snow.

Dr. Hismus walked by.

"Hey! Doc!" Trish shouted. Dr. Hismus stopped and walked over to her, "Yes?"

"Do you have anything to read?" She asked. Dr. Hismus thought for a moment before grabbing a gray newspaper off the nightstand next to another bed. He handed it to her.

"The '_North Pole Times_'?" she read aloud, raising an eyebrow at the newspaper. Dr. Hismus nodded, "A paper about the Pole, any news, engagement announcements, homes, movies, etc." he explained.

Trish raised an eyebrow, "Kinda reminds me of a small town newspaper in the human world or something."

Dr. Hismus nodded, "Their aren't that many things that differs us from the humans, Trish." and with that he walked into his office in the back.

Trish slumped down in the bed and started skimming the first page. Something caught her eye.

'_Wedding this Saturday!_

_The long awaited wedding of Judy _(insert picture here) _and Chuck _(insert picture here) _has finally arrived! Elves get your best clothes and wedding gifts ready because there is only two more days until the big day!'_

Trish looked at the date on the paper. Dated two days before. Which meant the wedding was that day.

'_The wedding will be an outdoor wedding in front of the Toy Shop at seven o'clock sharp! (Santa is closing the shop extra early because of the big event!) Everyone is invited and is encouraged to come! Don't miss out on probably the last wedding of the year!'_

Trish giggled at the thought of it. Everyone in all of the North Pole was invited? What if these two elves, Judy and Chuck, don't like a certain elf but they show up anyway? And who marries them? Santa or do they have a minister? All this stuff was completely new it her.

_Maybe when that Bernard dude gets here I can ask him about it. _She thought, turning the page of the paper.

She heard a door close and she leaned forward to try and see past the curtain.

A few moments later Bernard appeared, in his normal long sleeves red shirt that looked like velvet, and little golden vertical strips stitched into the shirt, green beret placed slightly sideways on top of his medium length curls, and dark, dark green pants with brown boots and a light brown bag hanging off his shoulders and a dark yellowish chain necklace around his neck with small Christmas charms attached to them.

Trish couldn't help but think about how Bernard pulled off that look so well. It looked like it was practically made for him.

Bernard took a seat in the armchair next to Trish's bed and sighed, "Turns out you were right."

Trish smiled proudly, "Told you so. I could never pull off being bad anyway. I look too innocent." she joked.

Bernard nodded, smiling slightly, "Yeah well, Santa called Mother Nature this morning and she explained to him who you were. Sorry to be more like cops but we had to make sure your story checked out." he explained.

Trish nodded, "Yeah, I get it. Protecting Santa and everyone." Bernard nodded, "Santa also wanted me to find you a job and a place for you to stay since you are allowed out of here tomorrow. Is there anything you're good at that I could find you a job at the toy shop?" he asked.

Trish shrugged, "I don't really know. I'm okay at a lot of stuff,"

Bernard shook his head, "Okay isn't good. You have to be _great_ at this! No second rate jobs are done in that toy shop. Name one thing you're great at!" he explained.

Trish shrugged, "I don't know."

Bernard sighed, "You're making this harder then it has to be." he mumbled. He quickly shook his head, "Never mind. We'll come back to the jobs later. Let's move on to where you'll live. Right now some of our elves are working on building more homes on the West side of the pole, since we're running out. So, right now there are no vacancies. You'll have to move into an elf's home whose living by themselves." he explained.

Trish fall back onto the pillows, "I don't know anyone though." Bernard nodded, "I can't really think of anyone who has room. A lot of the elves already have three to four other elves living with them."

"You have that many elves?" Trish asked. Bernard nodded, "Twenty years ago, we didn't have that many houses. Since elves can live for an extremely long amount of time, we can go hundreds of years without having children so the population never changed. But ten years ago our oldest elves that were married started having children and are in school at the moment, taught by Mrs. Claus, and are in training for their jobs. Now they're moving out, wanting independence and freedom so they want their own home so we have to start building." he explained.

"So how many elves do you have now?"

Bernard thought for a second, "Well, we had about a thousand elves twenty years ago and the oldest elves who decided on having kids, who have already left the toy shop to run other stores in the Pole, had at least one child so that's about ten to twenty more children. Mostly because some are prolonging having children."

"What about you?" Trish asked.

"What about me what?" Bernard asked. Trish rolled her eyes, "Are you and your wife gonna have kids?"

Bernard chuckled, "No, I'm single. I don't have time to date since I'm the head elf." he explained.

Trish scrunched up her eyebrows, "How old are you?" she asked.

"1,800." he said bluntly. Trish thought for a second and started to count on her fingers, "So you're…290 years older then me."

"You're 1,510?" Bernard asked. Trish nodded, "Math wiz, huh?" she asked. Bernard chuckled, "I'm good at math. You have to be to keep up with the toys and presents per child." he explained.

"So I'm gonna have to be on waiting list to get a house?" She asked. Bernard nodded, "I'll ask around. See if anyone has a spare room for you until then."

Trish nodded, looking down at the newspaper on her lap, "Are you going to the wedding?" she asked, changing the subject.

Bernard gave her a questioning look. Trish pointed to the paper, "The wedding of two elves named Judy and Chuck."

Bernard nodded, "Oh. Actually I was thinking about not going."

"Because you have to watch me? That's no reason not to go." Trish asked. Bernard shook his head, "You think too highly of yourself. I'm not going just because of you. I just don't want to go."

Trish gave him a look, "Why? Weddings are so beautiful. I remember once back in 1992 I was at a mall posting flyers for an appearance of Jack Frost and this couple was able to buy out the Cheesecake Factory the whole day where they had the reception. I was able to watch it from the window outside and it was so beautiful. Probably all weddings are."

Bernard shook his head, "Judy is 1,200 years old and Chuck is 1,300 years old. It kinda stings to watch two people who are younger then you get married and you've still never even had your first kiss." he explained.

Trish's face grew sad, "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't even realize. So, you're lonely?" she asked. Bernard shrugged, "I don't really know. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have someone care about me _that way _but other times I'd prefer not because in the end you might end up breaking your heart…wait." Bernard stopped, "Why am I telling you all this?" he mumbled to himself angrily.

Trish shook her head, "No, no! Don't stop! It's okay, I'm a really good listener and it's not like I'll go spreading this little information around. I promise I won't tell anyone anything you tell me."

Bernard chuckled, "You're very interested in my life when I'm trying to help you set up your new one."

She shrugged, "I like learning about people, I guess. But if it ever gets too personal you can tell me and I'll stop asking and everything. I just want you to know you don't have to keep things from me. I'm a very trusted person."

Bernard nodded, but before he could say another word he saw Santa walking down the large room to Trish's area (she couldn't see him because of the curtain blocking her view) and then next to Santa was Carol Claus, in red pants and a white turtleneck carrying Buddy, who was bouncing happily in his mother's arms.

Bernard stood up as Santa came closer and greeted him, "Good morning Santa, Mrs. Claus, Buddy."

"Morning Bernard." Santa greeted, Mrs. Claus and Buddy doing the same. Trish sat up and stared at Santa, "So, um, you're Santa." She smiled.

He smiled at her, "Well, either that or I'm the culprit of identity theft. Nice to meet you Trish. Mother Nature told me a lot about you." he extended his hand for a shake. She was happy to shake it, "Nothing bad, I hope." Trish mused.

Santa laughed, "Nonsense. Well, besides that one slip up in '79 when you beat up a teenager at the mall for making a comment about you going back to the fifth grade. But other then that, you're perfectly nice."

Trish laughed nervously, "Yeah, _that_. Well, he deserved it. I looked like I was a high schooler! Just because I wasn't as tall as his girlfriend he decided to make fun of my height."

Santa chuckled, "Yeah well, I'm sure you've heard of him now? He's been in a few movies. What's one of them…um…_Interview with a Vampire_, and that one movie _Troy_," Santa trailed off.

Trish nodded, "Yeah, well I'm just glad that fight was before he became famous or I would have had a fight with his body guards." she laughed, again nervously.

"Well, have you and Bernard talked about you're job in the shop? Or where you'll be living?" Carol asked, cutting in.

"Mrs. Claus?" Trish asked. Carol nodded, walking up to her and shaking her hand, "Yes, hello. I'm Carol Claus, and this is our son, Buddy."

Trish nodded and then waved happily at Buddy, causing his to make a noise that was a little high and caused him to wave his arms around, showing that he was happy.

Trish finally remembered Mrs. Claus's question, "Oh, well we're still figuring out the job part and um…the same with the place to stay."

Bernard cut in, "It appears there is no vacancies and no new homes or apartments free at the moment since they're still building the new homes so she might have to room with someone, but I can't really think of anyone with a spare room at the moment-"

Santa cut in, "Bernard,"

Bernard blinked, "Um, yes sir?"

"You live alone, don't you?" he asked, turning to him. Bernard nodded, "Well, yes, but-"

"And you have a two bedroom, two bathroom home that every head elf gets so they have extra room, right?" he asked.

Bernard nodded, "Yes, but-!"

"Well, do you have a problem having Trish stay with you until there is an opening?" Santa asked, walking up to him.

Bernard shrugged, "Well, I don't really mind but it might be a little awk-"

Again, Bernard was interrupted, "Trish, do you mind stay with Bernard for a few weeks? It'll be a great opportunity to learn even more from Bernard quicker. Huh? Huh?" Santa asked Trish.

Trish's mouth was agape and her shoulders fell some. Her? Live with this guy she just met yesterday who was given the job of, technically, _babysitting_ her?! She could _never_ do that! She hardly knows Bernard and wasn't stupid enough to just move in with a guy she hardly knew, even if he was the Head Elf! No way was she going to agree with living with Bernard! No way in the North Pole!

"I, um, I guess that's okay. As long as I have my own space. No invasions' of privacy." Trish agreed.

Santa clapped his hands together and smiled at the two elves, "Great! When you get out of the hospital tomorrow you'll room will be all set up at Bernard's and you'll need some clothes so you'll have to go shopping to. Isn't this great, Bernard? You get a roommate for your Christmas present!"

Bernard stuttered to make an argument but finally sighed and his shoulders fall, "Alright, fine. I'll make sure the room is cleared out by tomorrow." he said defeated.

Santa nodded, turning to leave, "Great. It was fantastic meeting you Trish, but I have to go. If you haven't read in the paper, there is a wedding today and we need to prepare."

Mrs. Claus helped Buddy wave goodbye to Trish, "Goodbye Trish. I'm glad you're feeling better." she said, turning to leave after her husband.

Once they heard the door close Trish looked over at Bernard, who looked exhausted.

She chuckled nervously, "Um, so where do you live?" she asked. Bernard looked over at her, "It's about a five minute walk from the toy shop, another five minutes from here to my house."

Trish nodded, "You know, you don't have to stay the whole day. You can leave. You kinda look tired."

Bernard nodded, "Thanks. I guess," He paused; "I guess I'll see you tomorrow." he turned to leave.

"Bernard!" Trish called. He stopped to look at her, "Thanks for letting me stay with you. That means a lot." she said, flashing him a smile.

Bernard nodded, smiling back at her, an actual smile that showed his white teeth, "It's not a problem." He turned around and continued walking, "Rest up! Tomorrow after you're finished getting settled in I'm taking you around the shop and making sure you find your job!"

Trish grunted at the thought of working right after getting out of the hospital, and fell back in the bed and covered her face with the newspaper and tried to take a nap.

**.**

_**To be continued…**_

* * *

**A/N:**

**did you like it? hopefully! **

**i think I got Bernard's age close enough. I dont think he's ever mentioned it in the movies (i only remember him telling Curtis "You're 900 yrs old! Grow up!" so yeah...haha) **

**I like how Bernard explained the population thing with the elves. doesnt it seem like the way he'd explain it for real? i hope so. I tired by best(: anyways...**

**_review_/alert/fave/all that jazz!**

**tootles!**

**~~~Taylor(:**


	4. A Place at Work

**A/N:**

**here it is! after 2 days! hehe. **

**i worked hard on this chapter! this one is about how Bernard helps Trish find a job. the things that happen in this chapter reminds me about the highjinx that happen in The Santa Clause 3 hehe...**

**oh, speaking of the santa clause 3....their was an elf (played by Abigail Breslin) whose name was Trish...just to let you know, this is NOT that elf. Trish is completely differnet. just for some of you who might have been thinking that hehe lol**

**ok, i hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**I do not own The Santa Clause. If i did (1) Bernard would have been in the 3rd movie and (2) I would have made an santa clause 4 all about Bernard :33 hehe**

* * *

_**.**_

_**Chapter Three: A Place at Work**_

**_._**

Trish stood in the office of Dr. Hismus the next morning, wearing her jeans, red long sleeved shirt and dark leather boots with her gray jacket and red and green striped hat with a pompom on the top. She stood in there, waiting for Bernard to show up and show her around.

Trish stared at the door as it opened and Bernard stood there, wearing his dark red velvet looking shirt, this time, with orange vertical strips and black long pants and dark brown boots, with the same dark Green Beret on top of his curls.

"Come on," He said to her. She quickly ran out the door and into the snow covered ground outside.

She was surprised at all the snow around and yet it wasn't all that cold. The snow wouldn't melt yet it wasn't cold enough for someone to catch a cold.

Trish stared in awe at the village she was standing in. It was like something out of a children's book. Their wasn't really a sky, just a light blue color to match the ice that was around them and in the ice it looked like little hues of a rainbow that seemed to even move.

The little homes and stores, they were almost like Edwardian era houses and stores. And all around their were elves, all resembling small children, although Trish knew better to guess they were much older then they seemed.

It took her a minute to realize Bernard was already walking away up to the biggest building in the Pole. She quickly ran after him, "Hey, Bernard, I thought I'd be going to settle in before going to the toy factory!"

Bernard nodded, "I know, but you can't live with only one set of clothes, can you?" he asked. Trish paused before nodding.

Bernard agreed, "So, I'm going to the factory for an hour," he stopped walking and turned to her while pulling out a small card and handing it to her, "This card will allow you to buy anything, but only buy clothes okay?"

Trish took the gray card and stared at it, "So, it's like a credit card?" she asked. Bernard shrugged, "Well, in a way, yes. Elves don't get paid. But when it comes to getting clothes, food, anything really, we get credit for our work. If we do a good job, our credit goes up but if we do a bad job, it goes down." he explained.

"Let me guess, no one has ever had their credit go down? Especially you?" She asked.

"None of the elves are really bad. But we don't really shop that much." he explained, turning back around and kept walking.

"Then why do you have the shops?" Trish asked. Bernard rolled his eyes, "We might not shop that much, but we do sometimes. Sometimes we outgrow our clothes, when the elves have children they need baby clothes and furniture, and also there are shops that sell food." he explained.

Trish paused, "So, how much of your credit am I allowed to use?" she asked, running to catch up to him. He shook his head, "I have probably the most credit next to Santa himself, but I'd prefer it if you got only what you need, which is clothing. There is already a bed and dresser set up in your room and food in the kitchen. So, just stick with enough clothes that will last you."

Bernard stopped in front of the door of the toy factory, "Meet me back here in one hour." he said, pointing to the spot they were standing in.

Trish nodded and looked at the giant clock and saw it was Seven am. She looked around at the shops and then turned back to ask Bernard another question but saw he was already gone.

She turned and walked into the first store she saw.

_**.**_

_**Forty-five minutes later**_

_**.**_

Trish walked out of the dressing room at the store, wearing a light periwinkle long sleeve shirt with a slight high collar, a lilac colored skirt with black leggings under it, one green sock that went up to her knee and the other sock red of the same length, with light brown furry boots with two pompoms hanging from each.

She smiled at herself in the mirror and walked over to the counter, picking up a bag in each arm that looked extremely full with clothing.

"I'll be wearing this out, if that's okay." she said to the elf behind the counter. The girl smiled and swiped the card Trish handed to her as she typed in everything Trish was buying.

Trish glanced around the shop as the elf girl continued to type in everything she was buying and spotted a light brown jacket with fake fur around the collar, the bottom of the jacket, tip of the sleeves and inside the jacket as well and on the rack next to the coat was a red and white stripped scarf.

Trish glanced down at her jacket laying in her bag and then back at the jacket and scarf on the rack.

She bit her lip and quickly grabbed the jacket and scarf and put them on the counter, "These too." She told the girl.

She nodded and rung the last two up. Trish took back the card and recite and threw on the jacket and scarf then placed the card and recite in the coat pocket, grabbed the bags and walked out of the store and back into the snow.

She noticed some elves stared at her as she walked back to the shop. _They're probably wondering who I am…me being new here and all. _She thought, shrugging off continued walking.

She finally got to the shop doors and looked around for Bernard. _I have fifteen minutes left. Ugh, I hate waiting, _She thought miserably, as she sat on the stairs that led up to the doors of the shop.

She rested her head in her hand and watched as elves came in and out of the stop, walking past her.

She reached into her bag and grabbed her hat, pulling it down until it covered the top of her ears and her bangs were hanging tight over her eyes.

At Eight am she grabbed her bags and walked back up the stairs. Once she reached the top Bernard still wasn't there. She huffed as an elf walked out of the door of the shop, Trish grabbed the door and walked into the shop.

She walked into the factory and the first thing she saw was the giant globe spinning in the middle of the factory. A staircase on either side of the globe leading up to the second floor. Conveyer belts of toys lend down from the second floor to the first floor for the elves to wrap, and another few conveyer belts leading the wrapped presents back up to the second floor.

Tables were set up where the elves were working on building the toys. Their was also multiple rooms elves walked in and out of building toys that needed more space. As she walked past the busy elves she saw the naughty and nice center and saw a group of elves dressed like they were in prison.

She ran up the stairs so she could get a better look at the factory and maybe even find Bernard.

She leaned over the bar and scanned the packed toy factory for the curly haired head elf.

"Hey!"

Trish looked over to the stairs and saw Bernard walking up them at a quick pace, "I told you to meet me outside the factory doors at eight!" he told her, walking up to her. Trish nodded, "I know but I got bored and didn't want to wait for you so I came inside to find you and get a little feel of the factory."

Bernard sighed and held out his hand, "Can I have my card back, please?" he asked. Trish let go of one of the bags and pulled the card and recite out of her pocket and placed them into Bernard's hands. She was about to take back the recite when Bernard turned around and opened up the crumpled piece of paper.

"You spent eight hundred of my credit points?!" He asked, turning around, staring her down with flaming brown eyes.

Trish took a step back slightly and glanced at the recite, "I _did_?" she asked innocently.

Bernard clenched his teeth, "Yes, you did. I told you, buy what you _need_! Not just what you _want_!"

Trish knelt down to the floor and opened both of the bags, "I did buy what I needed. Shirts, sweaters, pants, leggings and skirts, warm socks, another pair of boots, undies and bras,"

"Okay!" Bernard interrupted his face slightly red. Trish chuckled and stood back up, "I didn't buy anything I thought I didn't need. And everything I bought was on a table that said sale or clearance. I guess the crazy Christmas prices are even here at the North Pole, huh?" she chuckled.

Bernard shook his head, "And it's not even Christmas yet." he mumbled. He shook his head, "Alright, moving on. Time to find you a job!" he said with fake enthusiasm. Trish rolled her eyes.

"Have you thought about a job you'd be good at?" Bernard asked. Trish shrugged; "I told you, I don't know." she made clear.

Bernard grabbed her shopping bags and walked down the stairs, Trish following close behind. He stopped in the naughty and nice center, "I'll take your bags back to the house so they won't get in the way. Right now, try out the Naughty and Nice center. Ben will show you what to do. If he thinks you're good and you like it here, I'll get you a job here." he instructed as a shorter elf walked up next to Bernard, wearing the black and white striped costume and had dozens of freckles covering his face.

Bernard turned and started walking to the door while Trish stared at the elf in front of her.

"I'm Trish." she said, sticking out her hand to shake his. He shook her hand quickly and turned back to the Naughty and Nice center, "I'm Ben, and I run the naughty and nice center. Here, we organize the list to make it a little easy on Santa." "Organize how?" Trish asked, following him. "By country and state, alphabetical order, age. It's a slightly hard job, but it makes Santa's job at checking the list twice easier." he explained.

"Alright," Trish mumbled slowly, "What do I have to do?" she asked. Ben turned to her, pointing to an empty chair, "I want you to simply alphabetize the children in the state of Ohio. It's very simple for someone who is just starting out." he explained.

Trish took a seat and Ben pointed to the screen at the list of children, "It's easier if you just get all the names that start with A first, and then B and so on and so on. Then you put them in order. You use this," he pointed to the computer mouse, "To drag and drop the names. I'll check on you in ten minutes, understand?" he asked.

Trish nodded, "Seems easy enough. Don't worry, you can count on me!" she smiled. Ben nodded and walked off.

Trish pushed her chair closer to the table and screen and started to click away.

_**.**_

_**Ten minutes later**_

_**.**_

Bernard walked back through the doors of the factory to see either some elves running away or some running to help the mess going on at the Naughty and Nice center.

Bernard quickly ran down the stairs to the center and saw that multiple sheets of paper were flying out of the printer and everyone was scrambling to grab the papers.

Bernard grabbed one and saw it was completely blank. He ran up the steps and saw Trish sitting at one of the chairs, pointing to the screen with an angry Ben hovering over her.

"What happened?!" Bernard asked.

Trish looked up at him, "I was just getting bored and after I got done getting the A's together and started looking at the files, I didn't mean to I swear but then my hand slipped and I clicked print and I was trying to exit out but I clicked "OK" and all that paper kept printing out but this dude doesn't believe me!" she explained.

Ben looked at Bernard, "She had to have pressed a button for it to keep printing out dozens of paper!"

Bernard grabbed Trish's arm and yanked her out of the seat, taking her place. He started to type away and a screen popped up. Bernard pressed zero on the keyboard and then "OK". The moment he did so the paper stopped printing.

The three sighed and Bernard stood up and grabbed Trish's arm, leading her out of the Naughty and Nice center.

"Alright, I take it you've never worked with computers?" he asked annoyed. Trish pulled her arms out of his grip, "You can count on it." she said, rubbing the spot Bernard grabbed.

He tried to stay cool, "Alright. How about cooking? Can you cook?" he asked. Trish shrugged, "It depends."

Bernard nodded, "Follow me. Let's see if you can handle the kitchen." he said. Trish followed close behind him and down one of long hallways and into the kitchen.

They walked down the four steps and Bernard tapped on the Head Chef's shoulder. She turned around, "Ah, Bernard. What is it? We're very busy." she said. Her voice was slightly squeaky and she looked like a ten year old.

"I understand that Martha, but I have an elf here that might be one of your new cooks." he explained, motioning to Trish. She gave a half-hearted wave to the chef.

Martha raised an eyebrow at Bernard, "Does she have any experience?" she asked. Bernard bit his lip and raised en eyebrow, "Well, no." Martha's shoulders fell and she turned around.

Bernard grabbed her shoulder and turned her back around, "But! But she's a good worker and if you lay everything down simply for her I'm sure she'll get the hang of it." he explained.

Martha turned back to the table she was standing in front of before and started wiping down a bowl, "Listen Bernard, you might mean well with this one but I need elves who can handle this kitchen. It gets very hectic around holidays and we supple the food to Santa, Mrs. Claus, their son and most of the elves in the North Pole. We can't be laying things down simply for her. Either she can cook without instruction or no."

Bernard took the bowl away from Martha, "Please, just give her a shot. I need to find her a job today. Five minutes! Just let her try for five minutes and if you don't like her then I'll take her way."

Martha gave him a look then glanced at Trish. She looked uncomfortable and scared to even move or get in the way of the many elves.

Martha sighed, "Fine. I'll have her finish mixing in the ingredients in this bowl," she grabbed the bowl away from Bernard, "And then have her pour them into a pan. That's simple enough. Send her over."

Bernard turned around and waved at Trish to come over. She did and Bernard moved aside so she was standing next to Martha.

"Hello, I'm Martha the head chef here."

"Hi, I'm Trish-" Trish was cut off.

"The job I'm giving you is very simple. A baby could do it." Martha held up a note card, "This is the list of ingredients for a vanilla cake. Follow it and then pour the batter into the pan," she pointed to the rectangular pan next to the bowl, "and I'll put it in the oven." she explained.

"Everything I need is right here?" Trish asked. Martha nodded, pointing to the measuring cups and spoons, eggs, yeast, flower, vanilla, and milk.

"You have five minutes." Martha said, turning and walking away. Trish turned around and Bernard gave her a half hearted smile, not showing his teeth, "Alright, making a cake is simple. You can do this, right?" he asked. Trish nodded, "Probably. I've never baked a cake before, though."

Bernard shook his head, "With the ingredients listed on that card you'll do fine. Like Martha, I'll be back in five minutes." he said, turning to leave.

Trish nodded, walking over to the small sink and washing her hands. She pulling up her sleeves on her jacket and shirt and started to read off the ingredients.

_1 TSB of yeast…2 TBS of vanilla. What the hell does that mean? Isn't that a TV station? _Trish thought, confused. She turned around, trying to get the attention of one of the cooks, but they were all too busy to help.

Trish took one of the cups and filled half of it with yeast, then grabbed one of the small spoons and poured some of the vanilla into it and dropped both of them into the bowl.

_**.**_

_**Five minutes later**_

_**.**_

"Ahh! Someone help!" Trish shouted, backing away from the table where a dough monster was forming.

Martha ran up to the table as did ten other elves, trying their best to stop the yeast from growing.

Bernard walked through the kitchen door and saw them tackling the dough.

Trish, who had fallen backwards and was sitting on the floor under one of the tables out of the way, watched horrified at what she had done.

Bernard groaned and ran up to the scene. He saw Trish sitting under the table. He bent down and faked a smile at her, glanced at the group of elves in front of them and then back at Trish, "I'm going to remain _calm_." he said as calmly as possible.

Trish sighed and nodded, "Alright."

Bernard rubbed his hands together, "Let's start off simply, what happened now?" he asked. Trish shrugged, "I couldn't understand the ingredients."

"How could you not-!" Bernard said loudly before stopping himself when he said Trish jump at his outburst. He took a breath, "How could you not understand? Anyone could." he asked calmly.

Trish gave him a look, "I'm not the baking type. I never baked a cookie in my life even. I don't even know what TBS or TSP means." she explained.

Bernard clenched his teeth, "You should have said something before." he mumbled, getting more annoyed.

"But I thought I'd get someone to help! But no one stopped to explain to me." she argued.

Bernard, again, grabbed her arm and yanked her out from under the table just in time for the elves to move away from the table, the dough being deflated and Martha staring at Bernard with angry eyes, her arms planted on her hips and arms covered in flower-like dough.

"Um, Martha, I'd like to apologize for Trish-"

"Get. Out. Of. My. Kitchen." Martha said sternly.

Bernard nodded, going as quickly as possible out of the kitchen, with Trish being pulled close behind.

Bernard wouldn't stop running until they were back I front of the doors of the factory. He let go of Trish's arm and turned around, staring her down angrily.

Trish laughed nervously, "Wow. Good thing we got out of there. That Martha chick looked pissed."

"Because of what you did!" Bernard shouted, out of anger. All the elves stopped what they were doing and all uttered an "_Oooh_" at Trish.

Trish glanced around at shop while Bernard took a breath. _Their has to be something this girl can do! She can't be completely useless. _Bernard thought.

He looked at Trish, "One talent. Tell me you have at least one talent." he ordered calmed. Trish thought for a second, "Well, when I worked with Jack Frost I had to draw out the cutouts and flyers. So, I'm good at drawing, I guess."

Bernard nodded thinking, "We have a station for drawing." he said, walking over to the stairs, Trish following.

They walked up the stairs and down one of the halls. Bernard stopped in front of a door with a sign above it saying "_Blueprints Room_"

He opened the door and inside was a giant room, filled with at least twenty tables and an elf sitting at each, all drawing away and placing the finished drawing in a small box on the edge of the table.

One elf was going around, picking up the papers in the tray and placing them on a cart next to the door. The elf was wearing rollerblades and she looked like someone out of the fifties.

She rolled up to Bernard and Trish, "What's up Bernard?" she asked. Bernard gently pushed Trish forward, "I have someone who can draw, Mel. You think you have room for another elf drawing up the blueprints for toys here?" he asked.

The elf, Mel, stared Trish up and down, "Are you a lefty or a righty?" she asked. Trish held up her left hand, "Lefty. I can draw portraits, comics, bubble letters, animals, backgrounds," she went on.

Mel held up a hand, "I get it; you can draw." Mel thought for a moment, "We do have an empty table since our last elf broke his drawing arm. Yeah, we could use another elf. Follow me." she said, turning around and skating up to a table in the back corner.

Trish and Bernard followed her. Mel pulled out the chair and Trish took a seat, "It's perfectly simple, our job." Mel started. "Sometimes, kids ask Santa for certain things that we've never made before. It's very common, before you ask. Sometimes they want certain types of dresses or a doll they want that looks just like them or just something weird but if they're nice then they'll most likely get it. It's our job to draw out blueprints for that piece of clothing or toy and then we send it down to the right part of the factory where it will be made." Mel explained.

Trish nodded.

Mel pointed to a mini computer, "This is simple. You can only get on one site and it's always up. Just type in what you're looking for and click images and it'll be the first thing that comes up."

Bernard cut in, "Can you print anything off of that?" he asked, slightly worried. Mel shook her head, "No, we don't have a printer and we don't need one either."

"What about if a kid wants something that looks like them? I don't know what they look like." Trish asked. Mel grabbed a letter out of the box on the other side of the desk and looked at the name on the letter, "See the name and return address? Just type that in and click on the picture. For explain, this boys name is Jack Mitchells, he lives at 5429 Elms Street, LA of America. Click _search_," Mel clicked the button and a boy looking around the age of twelve with blonde hair and braces popped up.

Trish nodded, "And when I'm done with the blueprints?" she asked. Mel nodded, "Simple. Just place them in the empty box on the left side of the desk, and I'll come around every twenty minutes to collect them and send them off to their rightful places. Understand?" she asked.

Trish nodded then looked up at Bernard, "I think I can do this job." she said happily. Bernard nodded, "Hopefully. Again, I will be back in ten minutes to see how you're doing." he said, turning to walk away.

Trish nodded and grabbed on the of pencils on the table and the paper and opened the already opened letter of the little boy named Jack and read out his "_complicated_" request for Christmas.

_**.**_

_**Ten minutes later**_

_**.**_

Bernard stood outside the doors of the Blueprints room. He took a breath, _Please don't let their be a huge mess in there. _He prayed as he opened the doors.

And, thankfully, the room was just how it was when he left. Mel skated up to him. "How's she doing? Has she messed up is any way?" he asked, worried.

Mel smiled and shook her head, "Not at all. The minute we left her she got straight to work. And her blueprints are great! Perfectly detailed and has little notes on what's what. It's like she's been doing it her whole life. I'd love to have her stay." Mel said happily.

Bernard glanced past Mel at the corner and saw Trish, hat, jacket and scarf off and hanging off her chair. And Trish herself was leaning close to the table, her right hand holding the paper straight and her left drawing away, every few seconds she'd looked up at the mini computer and then back down. She seemed very dedicated.

Bernard smiled to himself, _Looks like she found her job. _

He looked at Mel, "Alright. At six send her down and tell her to wait at the stairs outside the front of the factory. And, at some point today, tell her she has the job here, alright?" he asked.

Mel nodded, "It'll be my pleasure, Bernard. Thanks for sending her here." she said before skating away.

Bernard turned to leave. He stopped as he opened the door and looked back at Trish. She was still fast at work, in her own little world.

Bernard smiled to himself again and walked out.

**.**

_**To be continued…**_

* * *

**A/N:**

**did you like? hehe i hope so!**

**hmm..i think Bernard should understand no matter what girl...if you give her some type of credit card she _will_ spend alot even on just clothes. XD **

**hmm...anything else? i dont think so...I'll be posting the next chapter Tuesday! Tuesday chapter will be when Bernard brings Trish home and shows her around the house! :) **

**anyways...**

**_review_/alart/fave/all that jazz!**

**tootles!!**

**~~~Taylor **


	5. Bernard's Home

**A/N:**

**hey guys I'm back. **

**I will be updating this story every 2 days. thats rushed, isnt it? well I'm a fast writer and I'm choising to ignore my school work and mid-terms for this story XD haha**

**I'm happy I'm posting this. **

**this chapter is mostly about Bernard's home (duhh...thats the title XDhaha) and how boring looking it is and you learn a little about his family life XD haha **

**yeahh..no flame-y flmae for Bernard's house being all boring and stuff XD haha...i just for some reason thought he wouldnt have any family pictures or anything in his house for some unknown reason. **

**oh and i hope you like the reason i put for why Bernard likes his job :)**

**oh oh oh! one more thing!!! Trish gets to meet Curtis in this chapter :) yay haha ok anyways...get on with the reading!!! **

**i do not own The Santa Clause. If I did it would have more Bernard :P haha**

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_**Chapter Four: Bernard's Home**_

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At six o'clock Trish was putting on her new coat and scarf, getting ready to leave. Mel skated up to her, "Alright, we start work at seven o'clock sharp, but if you want to come in earlier that's fine too. Most elves like coming in earlier." she explained.

Trish chuckled, "Seven o'clock? Yeah right, thanks but I'd prefer not coming in before seven. That's too early for me."

Mel shrugged, "You get use to it after a few years. See you tomorrow Trish, oh and welcome to the North Pole." she said happily, skating to the other side of the room.

Trish pulled on her hat and walked out of the room, only to bump into a shorter elf, wearing glasses with light brown hair.

"Oh, sorry." Trish said. The elf nodded, "It's quite alright. You're Trish, aren't you?" he asked. Trish nodded, "Yeah, how'd ya know?" she asked.

He held out his hand to shake hers, "I'm Curtis, elf number two. I've heard about you from Santa."

Trish shook his head and laughed, "Ha, only Santa? I'm not surprised Bernard didn't mention me. I don't think he likes me too much."

"Why would you think that?" Curtis asked, walking with Trish down the hall. "I kind of caused havoc in the kitchen and Naughty and Nice center. And he lost his temper with me a couple of times today."

Curtis laughed, "He can lose his temper with everyone if you're not careful. But anyway, where're you off too?" he asked.

"Well I'm done with my first day at work and Bernard told Mel to tell me to wait at the front door of the Factory at six. He still needs to show me where he lives since I'm going to be staying with him for a while." Trish explained.

"Wait, you're staying with Bernard?" Curtis asked. Trish nodded, "Is that a bad thing? Is he like a super perv or something?" she asked.

Curtis laughed, "Ha, no. I could never picture Bernard a pervert. It's just funny he's letting someone he just met live with him."

Trish sighed, "Okay good. You had me worried there."

Curtis shook his head, "No need to worry. But be prepared, it'll probably be boring. Bernard's a man all about the work. He'll probably be working the whole time you're there." he explained.

They made their way down the stairs. Trish raised an eyebrow as she thought about what Curtis had just said, "What work could Bernard have? All he has to do is walk around and make sure everyone is doing there work, right?"

Curtis chuckled, "No, actually his job is complicated, as is mine. He has to supervise the elves, file paperwork, keep Santa updated at all times, he helps run most meetings with The Council of Legendary Figures, only sometimes, and he also has to be able to do any job there is here in the factory if we're running behind and we don't have enough help." Curtis explained.

One they were at the bottom of the stairs Curtis waved his hand as a signal for Trish to crouch down to his level. She did and he whispered something to her, "In my own opinion, all the stress from being head elf might be the reason he's so grouchy. He should really consider, after being head elf for eight hundred years, giving the job to the next elf in waiting-"

"Curtis!" Bernard shouted, behind them.

Trish and Curtis both jumped and turned around to see Bernard, staring at them with a fake smile on his face and hands behind his back, "You were blocking the stairs." he said to Curtis, walking between Curtis and Trish. He looked at her, "You ready to go?" he asked. Trish nodded and took a few steps towards Bernard.

Bernard turned to look at Curtis, "And for the last time, no!" he said sternly before turning to go.

Trish chuckled she saw Curtis huff and turn to the stables.

She ran to catch up with Bernard, "So, would you?" she asked. "Would I what?" he asked, going up the three steps to the doors.

"Consider giving up the job of head elf?" she asked, opening the right door while Bernard opened the left. He laughed and rolled his eyes, "Ha, yeah right. I worked hard to get this job; no way will I give it up for another thousand years."

Trish thought for a moment as she pulled her hat out of her coat pocket, "But, you're job isn't easy. You have to make sure everyone is doing their work and you have to keep up with probably a bunch of paperwork. To me, I'd hate to have your job."

Bernard chuckled as he pulled the collar of his jacket up some, "To you, you'd hate it. But to me, I love it."

Trish shrugged, "How so?"

"Well, for one, I love Christmas." he said matter-of-factly.

Trish gasped, "What?! You? That's a lie!" she said sarcastically. Bernard ignored her sarcasm, "its true, what elf doesn't love Christmas? And, to me, being the head elf makes me feel like it's up to me that Christmas runs smoothly. Sure, Santa has to deliver the gifts, but I have to make sure the letters get where they need to go safe, everyone is paying attention to their job, and all the presents are packed and ready to go on Christmas Eve. I like busy jobs." he explained.

Trish pulled at her scarf, "I prefer jobs I like and are simple. I'm probably gonna stick to my job in the Blueprints Room forever."

Bernard nodded, turning down a large snow covered road to a house on the end, with small pine trees and large open space around it.

"Is this you're house?" Trish asked, staring at the eggshell colored one story house with darkened windows and an old front door.

Bernard nodded, pulling out a key from his bag, "I've had it for a while, before you ask." he said as Trish touched the door, ignoring the prick of cold she got when she touched the cold door.

Bernard unlocked the door and opened it, letting Trish walk in first.

He flipped on the switch and the two lights on the left wall turned on and two smaller lights on the right wall turned on, one of them on either side of a red brick fireplace.

Trish pulled off her scarf and stared around the room. Up against the left wall was a three-seater couch and then a glass coffee table sat in front of it. Next to the fireplace was a brown leather recliner. No pictures were up, and the walls were a plain dark reddish color.

Bernard walked past her, "This is the living room," He walked backwards and flipped another switch and a light lit up a medium sized kitchen. Trish walked over to the bar and stood in between the bar chairs.

It seemed like a normal kitchen; fridge, sink, cabinets, trash can, stove. Trish nodded, blank look on her face, "Very…plain." She finally said.

Bernard gave her a look as he turned down the hall on the right, "Plain?" he asked, opening one of the doors and walking inside.

Trish nodded, "Where are all the pictures of family? Magazines? Do you even have a phone?" She asked.

Bernard reappeared, this time without his light brown bag.

He walked into the kitchen and took the phone off the receiver that was on the wall next to the bar. He showed it to her and then hung it up again.

Trish nodded, "Okay, you have a phone. But, that's it, isn't it?" she asked, pulling out one of the tall chairs and jumping up into it.

Bernard grabbed a cup out of the cabinet, "Would you like a drink?" he asked, trying to change the subject. Trish nodded, "Why don't you have family pictures up? Do you not like you're family?" she asked.

Bernard pulled out a carton of water and showed it to Trish. She nodded and Bernard poured the water into the two glasses, handing one to Trish.

"Thanks. Well, are you going to answer my question?" she asked. Bernard put the water away and leaned on the counter, "I don't like pictures." he stated simply.

Trish took a sip of water, "So? You don't like pictures enough to take pictures with your family? Or even putting up pictures of your parents?" she asked.

Barnard shook his head, "It's not like that, I just," He paused, "I was an only child and I guess you could say my mother was a little over protective,"

"What mother wouldn't be? You were born in a year with only three numbers. That's like dinosaur time. She was protecting you from being pterodactyl's dinner." she joked.

Bernard rolled his eyes, ignoring the comment, "Anyway, I choose not to put up family pictures. And don't start with the old thing, you're not all that younger then me." he said, gulping down some of his water.

Trish nodded her eyes slightly sad. Bernard noticed and set his cup on the counter, "Um, how about I show you to your room?" he asked.

Trish's face brightened, "Hopefully my room won't be so _plain_!" She laughed, following Bernard down the hall on the left. Bernard rolled his eyes and opened on door on the right side of the hall way and led her inside.

This time, Trish flipped the light switch and a plain white colored room lit up. A six drawer dresser was on one wall next to the closet and a full size bed was across from it with a wooden bedpost and a fluffy white comforter and four pillows.

"I didn't really know what to do for your room, sorry it's mostly empty." Bernard explained, staying in the doorway as Trish walked into the room and sat on the bed.

"My shopping bags?" she asked. Bernard pointed to the closet, "I put them in there so they're out of the way."

Trish nodded, "Can I put up some pictures or paint the room?" she asked. Bernard thought for a moment, his cheeks blowing up slightly, "Well, I don't really know how long you'll be staying, so I'd prefer you didn't paint, but if you want you can hang some pictures up."

Trish nodded, "And, um, dinner?" She asked. Bernard thought again, "Well, I normally make a sandwich and on holidays or special occasions I'd go out, but if you want to go out-"

"No, no. I already spent a lot of your credit…money…stuff," She paused then shook her head, "I'll just make a sandwich too. You got peanut butter and jelly?" she asked.

Bernard nodded.

"Great! I have a meal then." Trish said happily, scooting up on to the bed.

Their was an awkward silence before Trish stood up, "Um, do you mind? I'd like to put my stuff away." she asked, walking backwards towards the closet.

Bernard nodded, blinking in realization that he was still standing there, "O-Oh, yeah, sure. If you need anything I'm down the hall, second door on the right."

As he walked out of the room he turned around and knocked on the door, making Trish turn around. He pointed to the door across from hers, "That's the bathroom you'll be using. Towels are in the closet down my hallway second door on the left at the end of the hall, alright?" he asked.

Trish nodded, "You have your own bathroom, right?" she asked. Bernard nodded and turned to leave.

Trish sighed and fell to the floor in front of the open closet, sitting crisscross in the floor and pulling the clothes out of the bags.

She glanced around the plain walls as she separated everything into a pile. _It's so plain! I'm gonna go nutso living in here. Once I get some free time I have to draw me some pictures for these walls. Or maybe Bernard has some spare Christmas lights and I can hang them on the walls to add some color. Hopefully they aren't just the plain white lights…_Trish thought bitterly.

_Hmm…I wonder if Bernard will ask if I wanna help set up for Christmas if I'm still living here…_

_**.**_

_**To be continued…**_

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**A/N:**

**i hope you liked it! :)**

**i wonder what Trish is gonna do to her room? spice it up somehow...?? **

**also, heads up, i planned this story to take place throughout a year so their will be a little time skips in the next few chapters and in later chapters their will be MAJOR time skips. hehe sorry but i planned to end this story a year and a half after Trish got there. so this story has to have time skips.**

**alright...anyways....**

**_review_/alart/fave/all that jazz!**

**tootles!**

**~~~Taylor**


	6. Decorations

**A/N:**

**hey i'm back! (: **

**2 days have gone by and now its time for an update!**

**hmmm...what to say..what to say about this chapter...**

**well....just to let you know, Bernard still does not have any budding feelings growing yet, the same for Trish. they're just starting to get use to each other as friends and roommates (which is why they laughed to themselves at the end of this chapter. its _not_ cuz they are starting to like each other. just so you know)**

**i like Trish's morning XD it was fun writing. and trust me, their is a reason as to why Trish's morning is like that and Bernard knows it. it's just a lil plan I'm coming up with :) (remember i'm making this up as i go along XD haha)**

**alright, i dont think their is anything else to say. just enjoy this chapter! :D **

**i do not own The Santa Clause or Bernard. Only Trish. if i did own The Santa Clause Bernard would have his own awesome kick ass movie!! hell yeah XD lmao**

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_**Chapter Five: Decorations**_

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_**Three weeks later**_

Trish groaned as the alarm that was set up in her room went off. Since she was one minute away from being late on her second day of work Bernard took the liberty of getting her an alarm clock and pre-set it for five thirty in the morning (Trish going back and setting it to six am).

She rolled over in her bed, coving her head with her pillow only to get tangled up in the fluffy blanket and fall on the floor.

"OW!" She shouted/groaned as she kicked off the blankets.

She sat up, her hair flat in her face. The only thing she liked about waking up in the morning was that her hair would hardly get any knots while she slept. She jumped up, brushed her hair out of her eyes and walked out of her room into the kitchen for something to wake her up, aka: Orange juice.

Bernard sat at the bar, drinking something hot, probably hot chocolate, and reading the news paper.

He glanced at her, and smirked when he saw she was in blue shorts and a pink tank top and her hair a little messy. "You have thirty minutes since you slept in." he said as she walked passed him.

Trish groaned, "Ugh…must you remind me every morning?"

Bernard continued to read the paper, "Yup." he said simply.

She ignored him and poured her cup of Orange juice and walked back into her room.

Bernard sat there and heard first, Trish yelling and pounding the alarm clock a dozen times before it finally turned off…for good.

_Note to self, buy Trish a new alarm clock. _Bernard thought, sipping his hot chocolate.

The second thing he heard was Trish tripping over her blanket on the floor after getting her feet tangled in them again. Third, the sound of Trish pulling her drawers opened too hard and then pushing them in making a _slam. _

A second later, Trish ran out of her room, her arms full with her clothes for the day. She ran past Bernard and down the other hall to the closet, grabbed two towels and ran back.

Bernard glanced at her then saw something pink catch his eye on the floor. He looked down.

He rolled his eyes and took in a breath; his cheeks slightly pink and let the breath out, "You dropped something." he called, getting back to the paper.

Trish turned around and ran back, bent down and picked up the panties, "Get a good look? I bet that's the last time you see woman's panties." She joked, running back to the bathroom.

"Ha, ha, ha. So _not_ funny." he mumbled, not looking up.

Three seconds later he heard the shower water turn on and the curtains clinking against the bar they were hanging on.

Bernard glanced at the clock and waited until he heard the water stop. Five minutes and he heard the water turn off, five seconds later he heard a bang and Trish shout "Dammit!"

"You alright?" Bernard shouted in monotone. Three seconds, "Yeah!" was her reply.

Another ten seconds past and he heard her blow-dryer turn on. Five minutes and it turned off. Another five seconds, the bathroom door swung open and Trish came running out, hair dry and wearing a white sweater, pale blue skirt, black leggings and stripped red and green knee socks.

"At least fifteen minutes. I think you beat your record so far." Bernard said to her. Trish ran back into her room, "Yeah I know! Maybe tomorrow I'll beat this new one!"

"Please don't. That'll seem unsanitary." he called. Trish came out again, coat and scarf in one hand and her empty orange juice glass in the other.

Trish put her glass in the sink and put on her jacket, looking across at Bernard, "Well, that's true. Maybe fifteen minutes is enough for me."

"You sure? Wouldn't you like a morning when you didn't have to feel rushed?" he asked. Trish thought for a second before she looked at the clock, "Speaking of rushed, we better get going!" She said, walking out of the kitchen and over to the door where her boats were.

"It takes five minutes to get to work." Bernard said, turning in his seat. Trish nodded, wrapping her scarf around her neck, "Yeah, but I wanna get there to see Buddy! Mrs. Claus always lets him play outside the factory in the morning."

"Buddy?" Bernard asked.

Trish nodded, "Yeah! He's so cute! And I wanna talk to Mrs. Claus about Christmas; it's less then two months away now."

Bernard nodded, jumping out of the high seat and walking into the kitchen to place his cup in the sink.

Trish waited by the door, staring out the open window in the living room. "Hey Bernard, when are we gonna put up The Christmas decorations? Do you normally put them up once December starts or a week before, a week in to December or are you just lazy and wait until the last minute on the 23rd?" she asked.

Bernard walked up to her and grabbed his jacket off the hook and slipped his shoes on, "First, I'm too busy to put up decorations on the 23rd, and you have to be insane to think that."

Trish laughed and walked out the door. "Second, I normally don't put up to many decorations. In December I'm really busy. I normally just get a small tree and put a few lights on it and a star." he finished.

Trish gasped as he locked the front door, "Bernard? Mister happy-go-lucky elf? Mister 'I love Christmas more then air'? Mister 'I never yell at the elves, I just put a lot of energy in my quiet voice'? _That_ Bernard doesn't decorate big on Christmas?!" She said full of sarcasm.

Bernard rolled his eyes and walked passed her, "Don't think I didn't catch that easily heard sarcasm, Trish."

She ran up and walked next to him, "Okay, fine. Do you have any Christmas decorations in your house?" she asked. Bernard nodded.

"Alright. Since I'm not the head elf and I don't have that much work, how about I work extra hard and got my quota done early at the end of this month and come home to set up the lights outside and even get a nice tree! I learned that trees here in the North Pole don't die as quick as they do in the human world so we can have them up for like two months!"

Bernard thought about this, "I don't want my house poorly decorated and who says you're gonna be living with me in December? It's the end of October and-"

"And you still haven't found anyone who has room for me! By the way things are going; I'll be staying with you for a while." Trish cut in.

"Lucky me." Bernard said sarcastically. Trish took it seriously, "Isn't it, though? I'm a peach to have around. And I think you'll like my Christmas present for you."

"You're getting me a present? We hardly know each other." Bernard asked.

"Hardly? _Please_! You already know what happens to me every morning. And I already know the basics about you since I've been living with you for three weeks. And besides, the present I have in mind I don't need to know anything about you. I just need to know you on the exterior." she explained.

"Exterior? What are you planning?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Trish shook her head, "It won't be a surprise on Christmas if I tell you." she said matter-of-factly.

Bernard decided to not continue the conversation and just walk in silence.

As they turned the corner Trish's face lit up when she saw Mrs. Claus running around in a circle with Bubby wobbling after her. She ran up to them, leaving Bernard behind.

"Hey Mrs. Claus!" Trish said happily, running in a circle next to Mrs. Claus. "Oh, hello Trish. How are you this morning?" She asked, not out of breath at all.

Trish nodded, "Good. Are you and Buddy having a good time?" She asked. Mrs. Claus and Trish looked behind them at Buddy, in a puffy green coat and thick pants, his nose and tips of his eyes a little red and a big smile on his face as he chased his mother. They took that as a yes.

"Hey, Mrs. Claus I was wondering if you had any tips on Christmas for me." Trish asked her, stopping in her tracks as Bernard got closer.

Mrs. Claus stopped and let Buddy catch her as she greeted Bernard and then gave Trish a strange look, "Christmas? That's a month and a half away."

She nodded, "I know but, most likely, I'll be having Christmas with Bernard. When I was with Jack, we didn't have '_Christmas_' we had '_Frostmas_'. Instead of exchanging gifts, I'd just give Jack gifts and nothing else. Very simple. And when I left I lived alone and didn't really have Christmas, so this is kind of a first for me." She explained.

Mrs. Claus nodded and glanced at Bernard. She picked up Buddy and handed him to Bernard, "Will you hold him for a minute, Bernard?" she asked, already handing him over.

Bernard was hesitant to take Buddy, but took him regardless. The whole time Buddy was here he had only held him one or two times, and even then it was only for a second or two.

Trish tried her best to muffle her small laugh at how nervous Bernard looked holding the small toddler. Buddy, on the other hand, was blowing a bubble with his drool (like all little children do) and played with the little jingle bell on Bernard's necklace.

Mrs. Claus walked opposite of Bernard and Buddy with Trish, "Hmm…well it is Bernard we're talking about so I'd say hang one strand of colorful lights along the rim of the house, some lights in the bushes, the white lights, in front of the house and a reef on the front door." she explained.

Trish nodded, "And what about the inside? Just a Christmas tree?" She asked. Mrs. Claus glanced back at Bernard, who was bouncing Buddy in his arms and Buddy was trying to talk to Bernard with the words he had learned from his parents.

"Hmm…probably the tree but come by Santa's office at the end of the month and I'll lend you an extra _'Santa's Village'_ display that you should set up inside." she offered.

Trish smiled and hugged Mrs. Claus, "Oh, thanks so much, Mrs. C! His house is gonna be decked out in awesome Christmas decorations all thanks to you!" she said happily.

Mrs. Claus hugged her back before they walked back over to Bernard and Buddy. Mrs. Claus took the bouncy little toddler, "Well, school starts soon. I better bring Buddy to his daddy. Have a good day at work, you two." she said, turning to leave.

Trish waved goodbye to Mrs. Claus and Buddy and followed Bernard into the factory, "Have fun watching over the elves and tending to paperwork." Trish said, walking up the right stairway.

Bernard nodded, "Have fun drawing up designs and cramping up your left hand." he called to her, walking up the left stairway.

Trish laughed under her breath and Bernard chuckled as they both went their separate ways in the factory.

**.**

_**To be continued…**_

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**A/N:**

**hey! did you like it! :3 hehe**

**anyways, yeahhhh....before you review and you _didnt _read the authors notes at the top, read them cuz if u ask me something i answered at the top i will not answer your question :P haha**

**hmmmm....anything else to say??? I dont think so. Next chapter will be up either Sunday or Monday night :))) i hope to get some nice reviews for this chapter! thanks so much.  
**

**_review_/alart/fave/all that jazz :))**

**~~~Taylor**


	7. Finding a Picture

**A/N:**

**hey I'm back!!! EARLY!!! O.O **

**normally, i post the next chapter at the very last minute but nooooooo! its Sunday....2:11 AM (IN THE MORNING!!) and I'm posting this! :D haha**

**but...because of this the next chapter might be a day (maybe) late because I'm gonna sleep in today and then work all day on my Spanish project and won't start on Chapter 7 until Monday MAYBE (Mid-Terms ALL WEEK! and also my sister coming over to bake Christmas cookies.) BUT!!!!!!!!!!!! dont worry! i'll still be updating ASAP! it just might be a day-ish late. ^^; hehe**

**also, you get to see Bernard's room in this chapter and Bernard's parents too! :D yay! haha anyways. enjoy!**

**i do not own The Santa Clause. If i did....oh you know this XD haha**

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_**Chapter Six: Finding a Picture**_

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_**Three Weeks Later**_

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It was three o'clock a few days after Thanksgiving and the toy factory was going crazy getting ready.

Trish had seen the elf school close two hours earlier so the older elves in school could help out.

Trish had finished her quota at one that day and was walking to Santa's office to see if Mrs. Claus had the extra '_Santa's Village_' out for her yet.

She was about to knock before the door opened and Abby walked out, carrying an empty tray. Trish stepped inside and saw Santa at his desk, checking over some paperwork most likely giving to him from Bernard, and Mrs. Claus sitting on the couch across from him, showing Buddy some flashcards.

"Mrs. Claus?" She said, walking up to her. Mrs. Claus looked at her and set the cards down, "Hello Trish. What brings you here?"

Mrs. Claus gestured for Trish to sit down and she did, sitting behind the bored looking toddler, "Well I got done with my quota early and I was thinking about getting all the Christmas decorations out and setting them up later on this week, maybe on the first, and I was wondering if you had the extra village out yet. If you don't I'll come back later."

Mrs. Claus nodded, "That's in the closet. Let me get it for you, dear. Could you watch Buddy while I'm gone?"

Trish nodded and Mrs. Claus walked into another room.

Trish watched as Buddy sat there, untying his shoelaces and blowing spit bubbles again. Trish couldn't believe how quiet this little three year old was. Normally they couldn't stop talking with the words they've learned.

She noticed someone else watching her. She glanced over at Santa, who had a bewildered look on his face. "Is something wrong, Santa?" she asked.

"You finished your quota in the Blueprints room _early_?" he asked. Trish nodded. "Did you finish them poorly?" he asked.

Trish shook her head, "No Santa, never. I worked extra hard and I didn't have a lunch break or bathroom break. I stayed in my seat until I got through all those letters."

Santa nodded, "That's…good. But why did you do that?"

Trish shrugged, "I'm decorating Bernard's house for Christmas and I want to get it done early. It starts getting dark here around sevenish and getting out everything and putting up lights at six won't cut it."

"You're decorating Bernard's house?" Santa asked. Trish nodded, "He said he doesn't normally put up many lights outside or gets a big tree and I wanna change that."

"Why don't you call it your house too?" Santa asked. Trish chuckled, "Because it isn't. I'm a guest there until I find another place to stay." she explained.

Santa nodded as Mrs. Claus reappeared carrying a medium size box and set it on the coffee table in front of Trish. "Everything is in there Trish." She said happily, placing her hands on her hips.

Trish nodded, grabbing the box and walking to the door, "Thanks Mrs. C. I promise to take good care of this and bring it back as soon as Christmas is over. Goodbye." She called, holding the box against her stomach as she opened the door and walked out.

She hurried past the working elves and tried her best to hide from _you-know-who_, who was standing opposite to her talking to one of the smaller elves holding a teddy bear.

Trish was at the front doors of the factory when she heard Bernard's voice call after her.

Trish groaned and turned around. Bernard gave her a look with his hands on his hips. "Shouldn't you be working?" he asked, eyeing the box.

Trish shook her head, "I've been working extra hard and I finished my quota early and now I'm going back to your house to drop this off and pull out the Christmas lights. Don't worry." she explained.

Bernard gave her a skeptic look, "Fine. Don't mess up anything. I don't want to come home to a complete mess." He said, turning around and walking back down the stairs and over to another station.

Trish rolled her eyes and walked out of the factory.

After she was gone Bernard walked up the other stairway to Santa's office. He knocked twice and stepped inside, "Santa we have a problem. One of the elves in the stuffed animal department is having a hard time with the voice boxes-"

"Hold that thought Bernard." Santa said some glasses on the tip of his nose as he looked over the naughty and nice list.

Bernard stood there at the edge of his desk for a moment as Santa read over a few more names, marking them with a _P_ or _C_.

Finally, Santa took off the glasses and looked up at Bernard. "Now, what were you saying?" he asked.

Bernard opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Santa again, "Wait, before you start Bernard. You and Trish…do you consider her a friend?" He asked.

Bernard paused, taken aback by the off topic question. "Um, why do you ask Santa?"

"Just answer the question, please." he said. Bernard thought for a moment, "Well, yes, I suppose."

Santa nodded, "And, do you like having her as a roommate? Is it a lot less quiet with her around?" he asked. Bernard didn't understand the question. What was Santa getting at?

"Well…the past month and a half has been _different_ then normal. So technically, yes it has been less quieter." he finally answered.

Santa nodded, "Have you made it a point to tell her she can relax at your house? Tell her something along the lines of '_my home is your home_'?" he asked.

Bernard paused, "Why do you ask?" he asked. Santa stood up, "Just wondering. I mean, Trish is finishing her quota early to get back to decorate, you her words, '_you're_ _home_' for Christmas. The way she talks about it, she's acting on her best behavior there like she's a guest in a castle."

Bernard laughed at this, "Santa, I think you have it wrong. Everyday in the morning she's always rushing and going crazy so she won't be late and-"

Santa cut him off, "Has she ever left a mess?" He asked. Bernard raised an eyebrow. Thinking back, the house was never really dirty. The bathroom Trish used was always clean after she used it, the same with her bedroom. And she'd always volunteer to do the dishes and put them away after dinner. She'd always seem neat and tidy since she began staying with him.

"Well no, but she's probably just a neat person." he finally said. Santa shrugged, "Maybe. Or maybe she's just trying to do her best. Confront her about it, will you? Tell her that she should be her full self now, alright?"

"Alright, but Santa-"

"She is staying with you for good, right?" Santa asked. Bernard paused then shook his head.

"What? Why not?" Mrs. Claus asked who had been listening to their conversation from the couch the whole time.

"Well, because…" Bernard paused, "Because she shouldn't be staying with me and I…I like living alone. It's much simpler."

Santa nodded, "Well, could you do me a favor? Run down to the blueprints room and see if they haven't sent down any of Trish's blueprints. I'd like to see them. From today, if you can." he asked.

Bernard sighed and nodded, "Yes, but Santa, the elves in the stuffed animal department-"

"Ah, tell me when you get back, please Bernard?" he asked. Bernard sighed, "Yes. I'll be right back." he said, walking out of the room.

Santa grinned and walked over to Carol, his arms crossed and Carol in the same position.

Santa chuckled, "What are you smiling about?" he asked. She giggled and shook her head, "What are _you_ smiling about?"

Santa shrugged, seeing that he'd have to go first, "Are you smiling about what I'm smiling about?"

Carol shrugged, still smiling happily, "Depends. What are you smiling about?" She asked again.

Santa nodded, thinking they were on the same page. "I'm smiling about Bernard coming outta his shell."

Carol's smile faded, "What? What do you mean?" Santa's smiled faltered and he pointed to the door then crossed his arms again, "I'm just trying to help Bernard make a friend who will, ya know, loosen him up. Act just a tad bit more cheery. Why? What were you smiling about?" he asked.

Carol paused before turning back to Buddy, "Oh, nothing." she said. Santa shook his head, "No, no what was it?"

Carol looked at the door then up at Santa and shrugged, "Well…I just thought they were cute…_together_…" She trailed off.

Santa thought for a moment about what she meant, "Oh no." he mumbled. "No, no, no! Don't try to tell me you thought they'd get _together_!" he asked, sitting on the couch next to Buddy.

Carol shrugged, her mouth agape, "Well, I was just thinking! I mean you have to admit Bernard does seem a little different now that she's here! Who knows but Cupid?"

Santa shook his head, "Yes, Bernard does seem different. More stressed from Trish's first day and who knows what else! They'd make good friends and she'd do a good job at helping Bernard be more open, but _couple_?! No!"

Carol shook her head, "I-I don't think that. You never know what goes on behind closed doors, Scott. Maybe in the future something might happen."

Santa chuckled and stood up, "Ha, well, we'll see about that. I know Bernard. There is no way he'd fall for a girl he just met. No matter how long they end up knowing each other afterwards."

Carol gave him a small smile, "They remind me of us, in a way."

"How so?"

"Well, remember at first? Always the sarcastic jokes and never agreeing and I guess we just didn't like each other at all. Then when Charlie had to do community service and we met on weekends we just, well, talked and got to know each other more and look where we are now? Married almost seven years with a beautiful baby boy and happy as can be. You never know what will happen to Bernard and Trish." she explained.

Santa thought about it, "That might be true, and believe me; they're sarcastic with each other, but having that form into love? I just don't know."

"We'll see when it happens. And when it does, you have to bring my parents up here for a week." Carol grinned, picking Buddy up and walking out of the room.

Santa sat at his desk, "When did we bet on this?" He mumbled confused.

Meanwhile, as Bernard walked out of Santa's office and down the back hallway he kept thinking what had just happened in Santa office.

_Is she really acting all neat and tidy because she thinks she's just a guest? Well, it makes sense, no matter how long you stay, you're a guest and you should be neat. And she knows like I know that this is not a permanent thing and as soon as there is an opening she'll leave. But…is it possible she thinks I don't think of her as my friend? I mean, I might be a little mean to her and or sarcastic but enough to make her think I don't think of her as a friend? _

Bernard sighed. To think he thought relationships would be tough (from all the times watching the other elves date and deal with different dramas) now friendships were getting hard to understand.

He turned down the hall and up to the Blueprint's Room door. He walked inside, almost colliding into Mel, who was pushing the cart filled with folders over to the door.

"Oh Bernard. Give me a minute I have to take these down to their rightful places." Mel told him, pushing the cart.

Bernard grabbed the front to stop it, "You wouldn't happen to have Trish's Blueprint's in there from today, would you? Santa would like to see them."

Mel raised an eyebrow and moved over to the side and started opening up different folders, looking through each piece of yellow, blue or white paper. She pulled out one, "This was her last one before she left. The rest I sent off in the last shipment. Make sure you bring that back." Mel stated, handing the picture over to Bernard.

He nodded his thanks and walked out with the picture, back to Santa's office.

He knocked twice and stepped inside to see Mrs. Claus and Buddy now gone and Santa sitting at his desk, head in hand thinking intensely.

"Santa?" Bernard asked, walking up to the desk. Santa snapped out of his thoughts and reached out for the paper as Bernard handed it to him.

He examined the paper, Bernard walking about and getting a good look at the design from over Santa's shoulder.

It was a yellow paper, with a rag doll looking design. It had button eyes and one was broken in half, the hair was made out of thick yarn and in the side note with an arrow pointing to the hair it said '_red yarn. MUST be red! And shoulder length._' and the dress was polka doted and in the side note said it was a blue dress with white dots and it was wearing Mary Jane type shoes that looked to be made out of fabric.

"Why would a child want this kind of doll? It looks like it was meant to be beat up." Bernard asked. Santa turned the paper over to the name of the child on the back and her information.

"Sue Pinsky…that's odd." he mumbled. "What?" Bernard asked.

"Sue Pinsky," Santa mumbled, pulling out a laptop and typing in the name. A woman appeared on screen, looking to be in her twenties with a small baby girl and a man around the woman's age with them.

"Tell me the baby is Sue." Bernard asked. Santa shook his head, and clicked on a link only the North Pole could have that led him to a page all about Sue.

"Sue Pinsky, age 24. Still believes in Santa after seeing him come down the chimney when she was 10." Santa looked at Bernard, "Must have been the Santa before me. Anyways, says here her house caught fire when she was seven and everything was destroyed and her parents died, but she was able to get out with the help of her dog leading her out. But her parents thought she was still in her room, and died thinking they were saving her." Santa's face fell as he read the article.

He continued, "She went to live with her grandparents after that. Married her high school sweet heart, Joey Dukes, and had a baby a few months ago."

"Why would she want this doll though?" Bernard asked. Santa scrolled down the page and saw a family photo when Sue looked about five. He enlarged it and saw that the younger Sue was holding a rag doll that looked exactly the same as the one in the blueprints and in the caption said '_Sue and Molly, 1990_.' It looked like the doll was taken out of a box under the Christmas tree. The doll must have been her present that year.

Santa looked back at the article, "It says Sue lost everything in the fire, including the doll. The doll, Molly, was a gift from her parents."

Santa leaned back in his chair, "She probably remembered the doll and wants it back. Asking for an exact copy of it for Christmas, to help remember happy parts of her childhood with her parents. And she's smart too. She knew to ask for it in detail so it'd be sent to the blueprints room because if she hadn't we would have sent her a Raggedy Ann doll instead." he said, half smiling.

Bernard looked at Trish's design for the doll and back at the picture on the computer. He glanced at the caption on the bottom that Trish wrote '_this doll MUST have a little card attached her necklace saying 'Merry Christmas Sue-Bear.' in cursive! It has to be 12 inches long and smell like camellia perfume since Sue sprayed that on her all the time! Please and thank you!'_

Bernard stared at the writing, half in shock and half just in awe. Trish was so dedicated to making sure every detail was there, all for the child's satisfaction, and this woman wasn't even a child! She was designing a doll for a grown woman and she still designed this doll to the very last detail.

"If Trish did that with every design today, I'd say she's probably the best elf we've had in there designing." Santa said, pointing to the blueprint.

Bernard nodded, "I'll take this back to Mel." he finally said.

"Whoa, wait Bernard. Didn't you have something to tell me?" Santa asked, remembering the original reason Bernard came in his office earlier.

Bernard nodded, now standing at the door, "Oh yes. The elves in the stuffed animal department are having problems with the voice boxes for the bears. They wanted you to take a look."

Santa nodded, standing up, "Alright, thanks Bernard." he said. Bernard nodded, "It's no problem Santa." and walked out.

**~*~**

Trish walked into Bernard's home (a week before Bernard was nice enough to give Trish a key to the house since she had been locked out twice before) and hung her coat and scarf up on the hook, removed her wet boots and walked into the living room, placing the box on the coffee table.

"Where did Bernard say he the Christmas lights and decorations were?" She mumbled to herself, staring around the plain living room.

She walked down the hall where Bernard's room was and slowly opened the door, thinking some alarm would go off if she went it.

Nothing happened, and she stepped inside. She stared around the room slowly. Truthfully, Trish had never seen Bernard's room. Whenever she'd go ask Bernard something, she would only knock and he'd come outside, never opening the door enough for her to see.

_Did he say they were in here? _She thought to herself. The three of the walls were plain white, while the fourth wall, the one where the king bed was up against, was a dark red color the same as the color in the living room.

The bed had dozens of pillows on it, all in order from biggest to smallest and he had a dark red comforter. A wooden trunk sat at the edge of the bed and a nightstand on the right side, most likely the side Bernard slept on the most.

On the other side of the room was a desk with a mini filing cabinet next to it and a laptop and printer. A dresser with a square mirror above it was in between two different doors. Trish walked over to the doors and opened the one on the left, switched on the light inside and saw it was the bathroom. Simple and plain, just like her bathroom, only their was much more counter space and his and her sinks.

She switched off the light and walked to the next door, switched it on and saw it was a walk in closet. A lot bigger then Trish's closet. Three fourths of the space wasn't used up. A full length mirror on the back wall and shoes lined up neatly on the floor and a few sets of shirts and even pants hung up on hangers.

_Very, very neat! _She thought, seeing no sign of Christmas boxes in the room. She turned off the light and closed the door.

She glanced around the room.

_Very big. How can one person stand living in such a big room? I'm not normally paranoid, but if I slept in this room alone I'd be freaking out at the dark corners. But I guess Bernard likes it. _She thought, walking out of the room and switching off the lights.

She walked into the hall and glanced up, seeing a rectangle in the ceiling and a thin rope connected to a hook on the ceiling so it wouldn't hang down.

She started jumping up, trying to grab the rope and pull it down. After the tenth time, she finally grabbed it, making it slide off the hook and she pulled on the door until it fell open and a ladder slide down.

_I think getting up there would be easy. Hard part is coming down with boxes in hand. Bernard probably uses magic to get down with the boxes and back up later. _She thought, gripping the ladder and climbing up.

Once she was in the attic, she realized how small the ceiling was when she stood up. She crouched down, putting her hands on the ground every once in a while as she walked through the attic to help her support.

She finally found a box labeled _Christmas Decorations _and she grabbed it (that box being the only box labeled that) and focused on the living room.

In a second she was crouching down in the living room, holding the box tightly. She placed the box on the coffee table and opened it, pulling out at least four strings of lights, two small boxes of Christmas balls, and a small star tree topper.

Trish shook her head, "Oh, this will not do. I have to go out and get more Christmas decorations if I plan on getting Bernard a big tree. The fairy lights won't work because their mini fairy lights and I need the big kind for outside. I have to buy all new things for this Christmas!" She said to herself, examining the lights and Christmas balls.

She reached back into the box, trying to find something else, but pulled out a frame.

She stared at it curiously, then flipped it over and saw it was a family picture.

It was in black and white, and the frame looked old itself. _Probably from the 70s, maybe. It seems that old. _She thought to herself, staring at the two smiling teenage looking people.

She then noticed the third person. Curly dark hair and a half smile half scowl on his face. He was in a beret and that slightly baggy, thin striped shirt and dark pants.

_It's Bernard! _Trish thought shocked. She glanced at the other two people in the photo he was standing on either side of.

The woman, probably an inch or two shorter then him, had wildly curly dark hair, and a big smile that evened out her small nose. She looked no more then fourteen or fifteen. She was wearing a Christmas type dress and her long crazy hair covered her ears, but Trish could tell she had elfish features.

And the man on the other side of Bernard was about the same height of him, dark hair and looked like he was about seventeen, but his eyes…you could just tell from his eyes he was much older, the same with the woman. And he was wearing a sweater with a collar shirt under it and slacks.

_Those…those two must be his parents. _Trish thought, gently touching the glass above the picture.

For just a brief second, a flash a fire entered her head, a scream in some language that wasn't English.

Trish shook her head, closing her eyes hard and putting the picture back in the box as fast as she could.

After a moment she opened her eyes, and closed the box. "Well, I better clean this up. Bernard said he didn't want a mess, no matter how small." she mumbled to herself, setting the rolled up lights on top of the box and moving the bigger and empty box on the floor.

**.**

_**To be continued…**_

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**A/N:**

**ok did you like it???? :D **

**i hope so. any idea about that "thing" that happened to Trish when she looked at the family photo? hehe...it'll be explained later. *evil laugh* **

**ok ok....anyways...................................................................just because Mrs. Claus likes them as a couple does NOT mean they're getting together anytime soon. its just Mrs. Claus speaking her thoughts. haha. alright, anyways...**

**review/alart/fave/all that jazz!!!**

**tootles!**

**~~~Taylor**


	8. Christmas Trees

**A/N:**

**omg I am so sorry! I'm like 3 days late!!! ugh!**

**dont worry tho! I'm going to publish chapter 8 later on tonight to make up for my lateness and starting today is my Christmas Break and I'll be writing my ass off to get this story done! :D (i probably wont get it done in time tho -tears- I feel like I'm letting myself down...)**

**anyways, i worked hard on this chapter and here it is! its continuing from the last chapter, okay? :) alright, enjoy!**

**i do not own the Santa Clause movies...sadly :(**

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_**Chapter Seven: Christmas Trees**_

**_._**

Trish walked out of the house, coat and scarf on, and over to the Christmas tree lot next to the Cocoa Shop.

Their were so many healthy looking trees, all full and cut perfectly at the bottom, it was so hard to pick.

Trish looked at the big clock across from the Factory and saw it was almost two.

_Hmm…Bernard has a lunch break at three. He normally takes his break at the Cocoa shop here, maybe I can go get the lights and decorations now and at three meet Bernard here and see which tree he likes. Yeah, that's good. _Trish thought, walking out of the tree lot and across to a store with Christmas lights and ornaments in the window.

She walked in and saw their was only one elf behind the counter and another looking at a box of lights. She looked about twelve, maybe thirteen. Her hair was slightly long (Longer then Trish's) and she had a little gold crown on her head and a velvet purple/reddish colored dress. And Trish could see a little golden ring on her left hand and an engagement ring to go along with it.

_It's so strange…seeing someone who looks like a child who is married. Although back in medieval times girls were probably married at that age (I can't really remember. I was too busy helping Jack decorate his 'castle' at the time. The worst twenty years of my life.) _

Trish didn't realize while she was thinking this the girl noticed her staring and started staring back.

Trish blinked and looked down sheepishly at the lights on the shelf, "Sorry," she murmured.

The girl laughed, "Its okay. I'm Judy. I don't think I've met you before." She said, sticking out her hand to shake. Trish shook it back, "Oh, I'm Trish. I just came here two months ago." she introduced.

_Judy…oh my gosh she's the girl from the newspaper! The one who got married right after I got here! _Trish thought happily.

"Trish…you're the one who's staying with Bernard?" She asked. Trish nodded, "That's kinda old news." she chuckled.

Judy nodded, "Yeah, I got back from the honeymoon a few weeks ago and no one has mentioned you. I only heard about you when Curtis was telling Chuck about how Bernard might end up with a permanent roommate. You know, since you can't find a place to stay." she explained.

Trish nodded, "Oh, that's what you meant. I thought…" Trish paused, "Well…um…never mind."

Judy nodded. "What are you doing here? Doesn't Bernard have his own lights?" she asked. Trish nodded, "He does but not enough. I'm here for outdoor lights."

Judy walked past her and down the aisle, grabbed a box and walked back to her, "I recommend these. I've seen Bernard's house before and those would work fine."

Trish nodded, "Thank you. Why are you here? Don't you have decorations too?" She asked, grinning. Judy nodded, "I do but we moved out of our apartments when we got married and moved into a house. Now we need more. And before you ask, no our apartments aren't up for sale. Our roommates took them. Sorry." She said apologetically.

Trish nodded. She could tell how much taller she was then Judy.

"It's no problem. It might sound odd since Bernard seems like a kill joy sometimes, but I like living with him."

"You do?" Judy asked. Trish nodded, "He's an interesting person and he can make some good jokes when he tries, you can never really have a boring conversation with him and he might be a workaholic but it just shows how dedicated he is. He's a good person and…well…" Trish paused and leaned down a little, "Don't tell anyone, but when I first met Bernard and I thought he was some angel, cuz I thought I was dead, I thought he was a really cute angel." She giggled. Trish stood up, "But now he's just silly little Bernard." She finished.

"You thought he was…cute?" Judy asked. Trish nodded, "Yeah but don't tell people. They might think I like him or something. It was just a thought. Now it's gone and I'm over it." She laughed, walking to another aisle.

"So, you'd be okay if you weren't living with him?" Judy asked, standing on her tip toes to get a look at Trish in the other aisle.

Trish shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, if I lived with someone else from the start I might not have Bernard as such a good friend and whoever I was living with would take his place and to me that's kind of like a loss. Bernard needs a good friend." she explained, picking up three boxes of Christmas balls and another two boxes of Christmas ornaments.

"Hmm…interesting." Judy mumbled, walking up to the counter.

Trish walked up behind her, "What is?"

Judy shook her head, "Oh, nothing. Well, I hope you have a good day Trish. Nice meeting you." She said, taking her bag and walking out of the store.

Trish watched Judy leave before turning and handed the boy behind the counter her credit card (She finally got her own a week and a half ago! She was so excited!) And took the two bags and card back and walked out of the store.

_**.**_

_**An hour later**_

_**.**_

Bernard was standing next to the counter in the Cocoa shop, waiting for his order. He had ordered a cinnamon roll and a hot chocolate to go. He really wanted to get back to work. It was so busy, even if they were ahead of schedule.

"Here you go, Bernard. Nice and fresh." The young looking girl said to him behind the counter, handing over a bag and to-go cup. "Thanks. Put it on my tab, Lily."

The girl nodded and Bernard walked out and glanced around, taking a sip of the hot drink.

Everything seemed just perfect.

"Bernard!"

He cringed. Trish came running up to him. "Hey I need you're help." she said, finally coming to a stop.

Bernard gave her a look, "Is my house still in one piece?" he asked. Trish gently punched his arm, "Yes! I need you're help picking a tree."

Bernard glanced behind her at the Christmas tree lot, "How do you need help? Just pick a tree."

Trish rolled her eyes, "But it's your house Bernard! I held off the Picking of the Christmas tree until you're lunch break so you could help me. Just come look at the trees and tell me which one you like and I'll get it. Simple, no?" she asked.

Bernard handed her the cup and she held it, while he opened the bag and pulled out the cinnamon roll, taking a bite.

"Please say yes, Bernard! You have a forty five minute lunch break! This will take five minutes." Trish said, gripping the cup tighter.

Bernard pried the cup out of her gripped hands and sighed, "Fine," He said, taking a drink to wash down the roll.

Trish smiled and ran to the lot, Bernard walking behind her.

Bernard walked over to a small, four foot tree. Trish shook her head, "You're living room can have at least a six foot tall tree. Let's keep looking!"

Bernard sighed and followed Trish around. He really wanted to get back to work; he could care less at the moment about a tree.

Trish walked up to a five and a half foot tree, just an inch or two taller then Bernard and herself.

"This one is so pretty!" She cooed. Bernard walked around the tree, staring it up and down, "I like It." he finally said.

Trish grinned from ear to ear, "You do? Great! Let's get it and take it back to your house!" she said happily, walking over to the owner of the lot.

She returned to the tree with a recite and tucked it into her pocket, "This one is ours! Let's get it back."

Bernard nodded, taking hold of the tree, "It's faster to teleport." he told her quickly. Trish nodded and held onto the tree and seconds later they were standing inside the dark living room of Bernard's home.

Trish ran over and switched on the lights, letting Bernard see a number of boxes filled with big and little fairy lights and open small boxes with Christmas balls and ornaments and right in front of the living room window was the tree stand with a white Christmas rug under it.

"You really did get a lot of stuff." He said, looking around the room. Trish nodded, taking off her scarf and jacket. "Well it is gonna be a great Christmas this year so it makes sense that I went all out."

Trish and Bernard picked up the tree and walked it over to the stand. Bernard held on to the tree while Trish bent to the floor to make sure the trunk made it into the stand.

"What makes this Christmas so special?" he asked, clueless. Trish chuckled, grabbing the trunk and trying to get Bernard to move the tree the same way she was so it would go in, "Because this would be my first Christmas here in the North Pole and you're first Christmas with me!""And that's special?" he asked sarcastically. Trish took it seriously, "Well, I just thought you were always alone on Christmas and this year would be different because you had a roommate to share it with. I guess not." She said, trying hard not to show the sadness in her voice. It came through anyway.

Bernard was taken aback. _Did she think I meant what I said? And I thought she could tell when I was being sarcastic. Did she take all my past sarcastic jokes seriously? _Bernard thought to himself.

Finally the trunk got in the stand and Trish lied down on the floor to screw the tree in its place.

Bernard kept hold of the tree, eyeing his hot chocolate and bag he had placed on the table once they were back there. He didn't want to look down at Trish.

"You know," Bernard started, getting Trish's attention.

"You keep calling this place my house and you've been here for two months and you may be here longer then that too, so…" He paused. "Why don't you start calling this place your home?" he asked.

Trish let go of the screw and looked up at Bernard quizzically. "If you want to I mean. And, um, you can start being yourself around here. I know you're only being extra clean because you think of yourself a guest. You are, but you've been here long enough for you to treat this place like your own home. Alright?" Bernard asked.

Trish gulped, "Ah…um." She mumbled, and then nodded her head, "Y-Yeah. Thanks Bernard." she finally mustered.

He half smiled, "okay, good. And when you move out, you can, well, you can come visit if you'd like."

Trish chuckled and turned her attention back on the screws, "I'd like that. Thank you Bernard. You're a good friend." She pushed the second screw in and looked up at Bernard, "You don't need to hold it anymore. I can take it from here. And when you get back tonight we can start decorating the tree!"

Bernard nodded, letting go of the tree and grabbing his hot chocolate and paper bag, "See you tonight, Trish." he said before disappearing into dust.

"See you later Bernard." Trish said to the falling dust before returning to the tree.

Bernard reappeared in front of the factory, and he walked up the steps, taking a sit of the, now warm, hot chocolate.

"Hey Bernard!"

Was he ever going to be able to eat his lunch in peace?

He turned around and saw Curtis running up to him.

"What do you want Curtis?" He asked annoyed. Curtis took in a breath, "I found an apartment for Trish!"

Bernard gulped, "An apartment?" he asked.

Curtis nodded, "Yeah. I just bumped into Judy and she told me to tell you to tell Trish her friend has room for her at her old apartment. Judy thought Trish would like it because she'd be staying with another girl, instead of, well, you." he explained,

"Who's the other girl?" Bernard asked. "Abby." Curtis shot back.

Bernard bit his lip thinking, "I'll tell her about it when I can, alright? Right now I'd like to finish my lunch in peace." He said, pulling open the door and walking inside the factory.

Curtis took in a breath and then looked over the baloney and saw Judy and Abby looking up at him, arms crossed.

Curtis ran down the stairs and over to the two girls, "Did you tell him?" Judy asked. Curtis nodded, "Although he didn't seem too happy about it, if you could say that. He just seemed, well, monotone."

"At least it's not anger." Abby said.

"What is your plan exactly, Judy?" Curtis asked. Judy grinned, "I can't really say. Mrs. Claus came up with it before and told Abby and Abby wanted me in on it and we needed your help too. Just make sure you don't tell anyone else."

"But I don't understand why we're doing this. Are we trying to get Trish to move out or something?" Curtis asked. Abby and Judy exchanged looks before groaning, "_Men_!" and walking into the smaller doors of the factory, leaving Curtis outside in the snow, still confused.

Bernard, already heading the kitchen to have a somewhat peaceful lunch, saw Santa walking up to him. Another stop in his road to lunch.

"Just the elf I wanted to see!" Santa said happily. Bernard tried hard to hide his groan. "What is it Santa?" he asked.

Santa eyed Bernard's lunch; "I could come back…" he started. Bernard shook his head, "No, just tell me now."

Santa nodded, "Well, this is the last Christmas before Charlie goes off to college and I invited the family down next week until Christmas, just a heads up that you'll have to watch the factory while I go get them." he explained.

"Wait, the whole family? As in Neil, Lora, Lucy _and_ Charlie? Are Mrs. Claus's parents coming too?" Bernard asked.

Santa shook his head slowly, "They're actually spending Christmas in Hawaii and I don't want to pull them away from that, so keep the in-laws on the down low, alright?" he asked.

Bernard nodded. Now Santa will be distracted all December, spending as much time with Charlie as possible, and then they'll have to make room for not only Charlie, but Buddy as well on the sleigh on Christmas Eve. And while all that goes on Bernard would have to work extra hard to make sure everything went well. Bernard only hoped Neil wouldn't distract the elves by having them do yoga on Christmas Eve like the last time he visited.

Bernard finally made it to the kitchen and took a seat at the empty counter. He placed his slightly warm, slightly cold hot chocolate on the counter and pulled out the cinnamon roll and was about to take a bite when his watch started buzzing.

He pulled up his sleeve and saw his forty five minutes were up and it was time to go back to work. Bernard groaned and ate the roll as fast as he could, then chugged the drink, not realizing he was going to have a bad case of the hiccups about a minute later as he ran out of the kitchen and back to work.

_**.**_

_**To be continued…**_

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_**

A/N:

did you like it? :)

i hope so! review this chapter and later on tonight I'll post the next one! I promise!!!! alright, wish me luck, guys! I only have 3 more hours of school and then my Break starts!!!! Later!

_review_/alart/fave/all that jazz :)

tootles!

~~~Taylor


	9. A Drawing

**A/N:**

**hey I told you I'd update tonight! :) haha**

**this one is a slightly(?) serious chapter. haha i really dont know. lol **

**Finally school is out and I can focus on this story (even tho I've gotten myself sick -fml-) anyways, enjoy this chapter :)**

**i do not own The Santa Clause. Only Trish :P**

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_**Chapter Eight: A Drawing**_

**_._**

Bernard was heading home. It had been a long day and in that same day he was warming up to the idea of Trish being able to call his home hers and then learning she has a new place to stay.

He opened the front door and saw Trish was sitting crisscross on the couch, slightly hunched over and drawing something on a yellowish white paper in a sketch book. Did she bring some work home with her or something?

"I'm home," He announced to get her attention. Trish jumped and closed the sketch book and stuffed it under one of the couch pillows. "Welcome home," She told him.

He nodded, hanging up his coat and scarf. _Should I tell her now? _He thought. He glanced around the room and saw all the lights untangled and a little bucket of tinsel on the coffee table.

"Want to decorate the tree now?" he asked. _Maybe I'll tell her after the tree. _He thought.

Trish shot up, "Heck yeah! Let me turn on the music!" she said happily, walking up to a radio that was sitting on the small table next to the lounge chair. "Music?" Bernard asked. Trish nodded, "You need music to decorate the tree, otherwise its way too quiet even if you are talking. Plus, it feels more like Christmas with the music playing." she explained, pressing a button until _Jingle Bell Rock _filled the room.

For the next ten minutes, Trish and Bernard were testing out the lights for the tree, Bernard laughing when Trish found a set of lights that blinked and you could control how fast or how slow the blinking went. And because she's Trish, she sat there for five minutes, watching the lights go as fast as they could then back down to slow and Bernard laughing at the amazed face Trish made at them.

After wrapping three sets of lights on the tree, they started grabbing the Christmas balls and going all around the tree, hanging them. The song playing then was _Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree_, which Trish knew all the lyrics too and was happily singing along dancing around the tree, Bernard laughing every time he saw her. Finally Trish put down the glass Christmas ball and grabbed Bernard's hands, making him dance with her.

"I can't dance, no way." He said, failing in hiding his laughter as Trish pushed one arm back and one arm forward, trying to make him move his hips. "It doesn't matter if you can dance, Bernard! It's just about having fun." she laughed, picking up the tinsel.

Bernard shook his head and looked at the tree. They used all the Christmas balls and the lights flickering behind the balls made them sparkle. It looked very pretty to Bernard.

Trish quickly took a small amount of tinsel and chucked it at Bernard. It stuck to his hat and hair and he gave her a look, "That's for not dancing!" she said in a singsong tone.

Bernard pulled the tinsel out of his hair and threw it at Trish, who ducked behind the tree. Another five minutes flew by while they had their own tinsel fight around the tree, missing each other terribly but getting the tree fine.

Once _Last Christmas _came on, they both stopped, trying hard to stop the fits of laughter they were having, and examined the tree. Red, green, yellow and sliver tinsel hung all around the tree, with white, red, green and yellow fairy lights lit up the glass balls and ornaments on the tree.

Trish turned around and pulled out a golden star with a long white cord in the back. She handed it to Bernard, "You can put it up." she told him. He shook his head, "This is your first real Christmas here; you do It." he argued.

Trish shook her head, "But it's your first Christmas when you're going all out. You do it, I insist."

"Not true. My mom always went all out when I was a kid. You do it, _I_ insist." he shot back.

Trish huffed, "Fine, you win." she walked up to the tree and stood on her tiptoes, inching the star to go on the top branch of the tree.

Bernard rolled his eyes. She was only an inch of two shorter then him and she still couldn't reach it. He walked up to her and took hold of her wrist and pulled her arm up some so she could place the star on top. She finally did.

"Thank you," Trish said to him, walking to the side of the tree and grabbed the cord to plug it in. He nodded, "No problem."

After that they were almost done with the inside. Trish still needed to set up Santa's village.

Trish took out the pieces one by one and set them up on the mantel of the fireplace. It all fit perfectly; the little glass villages that lit up with a small candle and glass street lights. And in the very center their was a big center piece with a painted on glass train track on the bottom, and painted on windows and little toys, obviously Santa's factory, and in the very middle on top was a snow globe of Santa in a chair and a giant list in hand, studying it carefully.

Bernard watched her as he picked up the empty boxes. Every time she'd put up on little glass house, she ran her figures over it and stare at it for a few seconds before she moved on to the next one. And then every few minutes she'd step back, stare at it all together and find something wrong and switch something around.

Finally, she was done and started helping Bernard pick up the boxes, "Thanks for helping today, Bernard." She finally told him, putting the last of the boxes in the back of the hall closet.

"It's okay. It was actually very fun. Next year you'll have to help me decorate again. I don't think I could have that much fun alone." he chuckled.

Trish nodded, "That'd be fun! It could become a tradition for you and me." she said, walking back to the living room.

Bernard took a seat on recliner and grabbing his knapsack, pulling out some paper work and a pencil.

"Do you wanna turn the music off so you can work?" She asked, sitting on the couch. Bernard shook his head, not looking up for his work, "No, it's actually relaxing when it's low." he said.

Trish nodded, sitting crisscross and staring at Bernard, who was so deep in his work he didn't even notice.

Trish slowly pulled her sketch book out from under the pillow and saw her pencil and pencil case in the crack between pillows. She pulled them out and as quietly as she could, she opened the book to the page she was on before.

She had used a hatching effect to make a triangular shadow where the corner of the wall stood, and in front of that was a half drawn recliner with a softly drawn outline of a person.

Trish took this amazing opportunity to finish her drawing of Bernard. She drew in the lines of his face and his clothes, and lightly drew in his curly hair and beret. His back was slightly straight and his legs were crossed so he could write down things on the papers with his upper leg. Trish thought the pose Bernard was in was just perfect, but she had to sketch it down fast before she drew over it with a darker pencil.

_Perfect! _She thought happily, just as Bernard uncrossed his legs to reach down into his bag and pull out another piece of paper.

She placed that pencil back in the bag and pulled out a darker one. She shaded in the shadows on the wall and under the chair.

She was just about to start on his hair when Bernard called her name. Trish quickly closed the book and looked over at him.

"Yeah what is it?" she asked.

Bernard had put all his paperwork on the table next to him, "Um, I think I found you a place to stay."

Trish gave him a quizzical look, "A place to stay? But I thought…" She trailed off.

Bernard didn't hear her last statement and continued, "Yeah. You know Abby, right? She normally brings Santa and Mrs. Claus and Buddy hot chocolate and snacks. Well, she has a spare room and has offered you it."

Trish thought about it. She and Abby had talked before. They seemed to have connected in that friend way and she wouldn't mind living with Abby, but…

"What about you?" Trish asked. Bernard took the paper and pencil back off the table and went back to work, "I don't really mind too much. You were only staying here until you found your own place and you'd be more comfortable with Abby anyway."

Trish bit her lip, "Oh, okay. When do I leave?" she asked.

Bernard shrugged, "I talked to Abby before I left. She said move in whenever."

Trish looked around the room at all the decorations, taking in all the fun they had setting it up. Then she imaged it cleaned out, back to being plain and fun-less and Bernard sitting here, in the living room, all alone.

_But he's lived like this for years. If he didn't like it he would have changed it by now. _She thought solemnly.

"I'll leave tomorrow, if that's okay." she said. Bernard seemed to stiffen but nodded, "That's fine."

Trish nodded and stared down at her sketch book before gathering her stuff and standing up, "I guess I'll go pack then." she said, walking down the hall and into her room.

Things were going to change now.

_**.**_

_**The next morning**_

_**.**_

Bernard was up at six, but instead of sitting at the bar and reading the paper he was sitting on the recliner, chin resting in his palm and staring at the Christmas tree, watching the lights blink off and on.

He sat there for another fifteen minutes before he heard Trish's door open. He didn't see her walk down the hall but then he heard the closet door open and close and then he heard Trish's bathroom door open and close. She must have been teleporting. Maybe she was just so tired she didn't want to walk.

Trish took a ten minute shower, just taking in the last she'll see inside that bathroom. She dried off and changed in the bathroom, dried her hair and put on some of her favorite sliver slightly sparkly eye shadow and white eyeliner, making her light blue eyes look brighter.

She walked out, and into her room, grabbing the shopping bags she used as her suitcases. She walked back into the living room, leaving a spotless room behind her.

"Hey," She said to get Bernard's attention. He looked over at her, "Morning. You're up early." he said.

Trish nodded, "I wanted to see if I could drop my stuff off at Abby's before work. Could you show me where she lives?"

Bernard nodded, standing up out of the chair and walking over to get his coat, "Yeah. She lives a couple of minute's away." he said, opening the door. Trish quickly walked over to the plug where the lights were plugged in and unplugged them and ran out the door before Bernard.

Bernard was nice enough to carry two of the four bags Trish had with her as they walked farther down the main street to a four story tall building.

Bernard walked to the doors and pressed a button in the third row. Moments later a static filled voice called "Hello?"

"Abby? It's Bernard and Trish. She wanted to drop her things off before work." Bernard said, pushing the button as he talked.

"Oh! Sure send her up!" Abby said happily.

A buzz was heard and the front doors unlocked. Trish took the bags out of Bernard's hand, "What room?" she asked.

"Third floor, room four. I'll wait out here if you'd like." he told her. Trish shook her head, "No, you get on to work. It will be a couple of minutes until I come out and that might make you _and_ me late. You just go." she said calmly.

Bernard nodded, "Alright. I hope you like it here, Trish. See you at work." He said, walking away.

Trish watched Bernard leave for a moment before opening the door with her foot and walking inside.

It was warm in the lobby and smelt like air freshener. She used the elevator instead of teleporting. For some odd reason she wanted to take her time getting up there, thinking if she got up there quickly it would be more real. It would appear real to her that she was really moving out of Bernard's plain, yet very cozy, little home and moving into an apartment that she didn't know at all.

She finally reached the third floor and took a few slow steps out and down the hall to room four. She knocked twice before Abby opened the door as fast as she could, dressed and ready for work, smiling brightly at Trish.

"Hey Trish! So glad you agreed to move in with me." Abby said happily, moving out of the way for Trish.

She nodded, stepping inside and staring at the small living room and walk in kitchen, no bar separating the two.

The walls in the living room were colored light blue with hard wood floors, and Trish heard her boots click against it as she walked. _At Bernard's home he had carpeting and tiles in the bathrooms and kitchen. _She thought, staring at the leather coach and medium size TV across from it, no fireplace in sight.

A coffee table was in front of the couch, only it was made of wood and didn't have a glass as the table part and popular magazines were spread across it; _Cosmo Girl_, _Seventeen_, _People_, etc. etc.

And in the kitchen was a small table with two chairs, family and friend pictures hung up on the refrigerator and Cat Calendar hanging next to a portable phone.

She felt so out of place in the bright and warm welcoming apartment.

"You're room is across from mine. We'll have to share a bathroom though." Abby told her, point down a small hallway.

"Your room is on the right side." She told Trish as she walked down the hall to the three doors. Two of those three were on the left so Trish could only assume the door on the right was hers.

She walked inside, flipped on the switch saw a double bed with a cute rainbow polka doted comforter and matching pillows. A white dresser was across from it and the room was painted a light pink color.

_Very, very different from Bernard's place, I can tell ya that! _Trish thought, grimacing at the colors in the room. Trish could be a girly girl sometimes, but, under no circumstantiates, would Trish ever like the color pink. She liked different shades of purple and sometimes even red but she could not stand the color pink.

_I guess I'll have to live with this. _She thought sadly, placing her bags on the floor of the bright room and also realizing their were no windows at all in there. She hated the thought of not being able to walk up every morning and see the bright white light of the snow the "_sun_" was lighting up.

She walked out of the room, turning off the lights and meeting up with Abby in the living room. "Ready to go?" She asked. Trish nodded, and finally saw in the back corner of the room a small tree, about four foot or maybe less, with sliver tinsel and green lights and a glass Angel on top.

_No offence, but it's not as pretty as the one Bernard and me put up. _She thought, finally walking out of the apartment and left for work.

Something really was beginning to change.

_**.**_

_**To be continued…**_

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**A/N:**

**did you like it? :) I'll be posting the next chapter Monday (right? Two days after Friday is Monday? lol sorry but I'm very stupid XD haha) **

**omg now i really have to go. my head is pounding! DX (like i said above. i've gotten myself sick! fml) **

**alrightie well...**

**_review_/alart/fave/all that jazz(:**

**tootles!**

**~~~Taylor**


	10. Moving Back?

**A/N:**

**i am so sorry! I'm 2 days late! **

**i have a good reason tho!**

**I gots sick. (as i think you already know.) and my mom cant pay the fone bill till Christmas eve so no fone (no cell phone for me damn) and no internet. the only way I'm able to do this is cuz my brother was able to...well...steal someone elses internet XD haha**

**its simple! i can be on the internet but if the other person whose internet I'm using gets on, i get kicked off. DX oh well...its better then no internet at all. haha**

**this chapter kinda tells how Trish and Bernard act after Trish leaves and then a surprise at the end! :D lol**

**and...yeah...i'm most likely not gonna get this story done even by the end of December. damn...**

**oh well. i like working on this story! its fun :D and this way everyone can stay in the Christmas mood a month or two AFTER christmas! XD lol anyways. enjoy with chapter guys! :)**

**i do not own the santa clause. :P**

* * *

_**.**_

_**Chapter Nine: Moving Back?**_

_**.**_

Trish had been staying with Abby for the past three days. It was interesting.

She sat in the living room, staring at the picture that was unfinished. She wondered if she should still give Bernard her picture. Or maybe she should get Abby a gift instead since Abby was kind enough to let her stay with her.

Meanwhile, Bernard was walking home, hands deep in his coat pockets. He pulled out the keys once he was in front of his house.

He walked in, turned on the light and stared around the room as he put his coat and scarf on the hook.

He fell back on the couch and stared at the Christmas tree, the lights and star off. It was already December fifth and the factory was buzzing, Bernard extra tried from all the stress and work going on at the factory.

It felt so different to Bernard, coming home alone. Coming home to no one waiting for him. Coming home and not hearing someone said "_Welcome home_" in a cheery way. Just coming home to an empty house in general.

_I'm sure she's having a good time with Abby though. Its better she's gone, I can focus on my work more. _He thought, letting his eyes close and him drift off into dream land.

Back at Abby and Trish's, Trish was looking through her bag and saw the little key she had to Bernard's house.

_Crap, I forgot to give this back to Bernard! _She thought, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Abby asked from the kitchen. Trish put on her coat and scarf, "I Forgot to return the house key Bernard gave me. I'll be back in a while." she called, walking out of the apartment.

Abby waited a few moments after Trish left and teleported from her kitchen to Santa's home in the factory.

She knocked twice and was happy to see Mrs. Claus answer it.

She walked in and saw Judy sitting on the couch with Buddy, "How is everything with Trish?" Mrs. Claus asked.

Abby nodded, "Fine. She just left to go return her house key to Bernard."

"Really? She could return it at work tomorrow." Judy said. "She wants an excuse to see Bernard, I bet!" Mrs. Claus smiled, sitting next to Buddy.

"But she just doesn't know it yet." Abby smiled, sitting next to Judy.

"I'm still wondering, shouldn't we leave this to Cupid?" Judy asked. Mrs. Claus shrugged, "We should, but we're not really setting them up. We're just pushing them in the right direction." she explained.

Judy nodded and the three of them started to play with Buddy.

**.**

**Meanwhile…**

**.**

Trish was standing in front of Bernard house. The lights were on, she could tell through the window, but the Christmas tree lights were off.

She opened the door, happy to see he didn't lock it, and walked inside.

She slowly stepped in, making sure not to startle Bernard. But, to her surprise, he wasn't sitting in his recliner. Trish didn't notice Bernard on the couch as she walked over to the tree and plugged in the lights.

She grinned when the tree started to glow, then Trish walked to the Village display and took the set of matches and lit the small candles inside.

She smiled at the glow it made and when she turned around she nearly jumped when she saw Bernard sleeping on the couch.

She half smiled and walked down the hall to the closet and pulled out a small blanket. She gently put it over him, and then walked over to the light switch and turned it off, now the only light in the room was the colorful fairy lights and the candles over the fireplace.

Trish walked into the kitchen and pulled out a piece of paper from the Junk Drawer and a pen and wrote:

_Bernard,_

_Thought you might get cold so I gave you a blanket :)_

_I forgot to give this to you the other day, so here it is now, the house key you gave me. Oh and I was nice enough to light the Christmas lights and the village for you. No need to thank me. I was happy to do it :) _

_See you at work. Signed: Trish. _

Trish walked back into the living room and placed the note on the coffee table and on top of the note she placed the key.

She looked around the room before leaving and saw the fairy lights she bought for outside of the house. _I forgot that we had to put up the lights outside. I guess that's something Bernard's house won't get this year. _She thought, frowning and walking to the door, leaving.

_**.**_

_**Later that night**_

_**.**_

Bernard woke up and rubbed his eyes to get them back into focus and was surprised that the lamps were turned off, but the Christmas tree lights were on and the candles were lit and that he was covered in a blanket when he was sure he didn't have one when he fell asleep.

He sat up and glanced around the room, his eyes falling on the paper and key on the coffee table.

He picked up the note and key and read it, grinning slightly, "Should have known this was because of Trish." he mumbled, putting the note back on the table and sliding the key into his pocket.

He looked out the window and saw it was snowing again. It happened sometime in December at the Pole; a light snow would fall but the snow level on the ground would stay the same, but it would still snow to keep the elves spirits up and it made the Pole seem even more like a winter wonderland.

_I bet if Trish were here she'd be begging for me to go outside and play in the snow with her. _He thought chuckling.

_But I guess she's already playing outside that apartment building with Abby. Besides, I'm…far too busy to play in the snow right now! There is much too much work I have to do. _He thought, standing up, grabbing his knapsack off the floor and walking into his room.

_**.**_

_**Meanwhile**_

_**.**_

Trish leaned on the counter in the kitchen over the sink, watching the snow fall out the window.

_The only rooms in this place that has windows is the kitchen, the bathroom and Abby's room. And this is extremely uncomfortable watching the snow while leaning over a counter in a kitchen. _

The front door opened and Abby walked in, head and shoulders covered in snow, and a little white box and two cups in hand.

"Hey, welcome back." Trish called. Abby smiled and walked into the kitchen, "Sorry I didn't tell you I was going out. But I brought you back some hot cocoa and cookies."

"Chocolate Chip?" Trish asked.

Abby grinned nervously, "Actually their sugar cookies."

Trish nodded, "Oh, well those are fine too. Thanks Abby." she said, taking the cup and opening the box for a cookie.

"Are you gonna play in the snow?" Trish asked. Abby shrugged, "Maybe. Right now, all the elves are working on Christmas. Only sometimes do we play in the snow. Especially the older elves who work in the factory."

Trish took a big bite of the cookie and then grabbed her cup and walked out of the kitchen, "I'm gonna finish this is my room. I have some work I need to, um, work on, alright?" she called.

"Alright." Abby called back as Trish closed the door.

Trish sighed and stared at the cookie in her hand. _I wonder if Bernard's woken up yet…when I was staying with him I never saw him fall asleep on the couch. I guess that's a side of him I won't ever see now that I'm staying with Abby._

She fell on her bed and watched the alarm clock tick away. (Abby had gotten Tris the old fashion alarm with the two bells on the top that banged together and made a loud annoying noise in the morning.)

Truthfully, Trish liked Abby as a friend, but hated living with her.

_It's so boring here! Everything is decorated and girly, there are no windows in my room and it's so bright! I could handle Bernard's. I guess I like the plain vibe more since Jack always wanted me to decorate BIG at his place. It got annoying after a while. _She thought, taking another bite of the cookie.

_If I had to choose, I'd pick going back and staying with Bernard. _

_**.**_

_**The next day**_

_**.**_

Trish sat on the stairs of the factory. It was her lunch break and she was happy to take it. Since she wasn't staying with Bernard anymore she didn't have to work extra hard and get done early to decorate. Abby's was already decorated.

She had two big chocolate chip cookies, fresh out of the oven, and a large hot chocolate with marshmallows. She made sure they put extra in her hot chocolate.

She watched the younger elves run around and play in the snow, some ice skating in the small rink in front of the factory, some building a snowman. They had just given him eyes and he seemed complete; eyes, nose, button mouth, sticks for arms and a scarf, but something was missing.

Trish looked down at her bag, the cookies freshness ran easily through the bag and up to her nose, when a little red bobble got in her way. She looked up, and saw it was the pompom on the top of her red and green hat.

She pulled it off, frizzing up her hair some, and jumping down the steps two at a time to the kids around the snowman.

"Hey!" she called.

A little boy turned around and looked at her. He made it just to her hip. She really was one of the taller elves at the Pole. "Hey, how about you give the snowman a hat?" she asked, holding up the old thing.

They all smiled and nodded, the boy taking the hat out of her hands and putting it on top of the snowman. "Thanks!" they all told her.

She shook her head, "No problem. Anything for a complete snowman." laughing, she walked back to the stairs and saw something standing there, watching her.

"That was nice." Bernard said.

Trish nodded, "Yeah. I didn't want that hat anymore, anyway. It was a little too old." she walked past him and sat on the stairs farther up.

He turned to look at her, "How long have you had it?"

"About fifty or sixty years." she shrugged, opening the paper bag and pulling out the cookie. "Want one?" she asked.

He shrugged, "It's your lunch."

"And I wanna share it, so take It." she handed him the cookie and he leaned forward and took it, nodding his thanks.

They ate in silence.

"By the way, thanks for the blanket." he finally said. Trish nodded, "It was the least I could do."

"So…do you like it at Abby's? Are you adjusted?" he asked.

Trish took a sip of her cocoa, "I guess you could say…" she paused. "I don't really like it."

"What? Why?" He asked, slightly shocked. Trish shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I've warmed up to you Bernard cuz the littlest thing at Abby's I can find something wrong and then end up comparing it to your place." she explained, standing up, "But, hey. You don't want a permanent roomie so I'll suck it up at Abby's until there is another vacancy some place else." she turned to leave.

"Ya know!" Bernard called, making Trish stop and looked at him, "It's kinda boring, the morning, without you running around getting ready. And it's really quiet now that you're gone."

Trish nodded, "You shouldn't mind. You've lived like that most of your life."

Bernard nodded too, "True, but, I guess _you_ warmed up to _me_, Trish. Because now I keep hoping some noise will come for you and your antics."

"So…what are you saying?" Trish asked, a tugging hope pulling at her heart.

"I'd like it…" He paused; _I can't believe I'm saying this. _He thought. "I'd like it if you came back and stayed with me permanently as a roommate."

Trish smiled from ear to ear and punched Bernard playfully in the arm, "It's about time, Curly-Cue! I was getting impatient!"

"Curly-Cue?" he asked, slightly annoyed. She laughed, "I won't call you it again." she promised, running up the stairs to the factory door, "I'll go find Abby and tell her! See you after work Bernard!" she called happily.

He chuckled to himself and rubbed his arm, pretending that her punch actually hurt. _I can't believe I just did that._

_**.**_

_**To be continued…**_

**_

* * *

_**

A/N:

did you like it? :)

i hope so. I'll try my best to get another chapter up on Christmas, but i might not. Like (i tihnk) I said before, i wont have fone and internet survice until Christmas eve and really? i dont think anyone wants to work on Christmas eve writing, or on Christmas morning either. most likely, i'll have another chapter posted saturday or Sunday :)

anyways, i wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and I hope you guys like all your gifts, have fun with your family, and eat alot! XD lol anyways

_review_/alart/fave/all that jazz :)

tootles!

~~~Taylor


	11. Christmas

**A/N:**

**I. am. so. sorry. **

**I trully have no excuse as to why I didnt update sooner. I was just caught up in the Holidays and the fact it was Winter break and i didnt have to do school work and i just forgot about my promise about undating this story every 2 days and getting it done before December was over. (sad face) both of those promises have come to an end. this story is half way over and i might have it done maybe within the next two months. **

**I'm just so sorry. i feel so terrible. :(**

**anyways, another time skip. oh well. after this chapter it starts the romance of Trish and Bernard (i wonder which one of them will realize their feelings first...) who do you think? anyways enjoy this chapter guys and I'm sorry again :(**

**i do not own The Santa Clause 1, 2, or 3. I only own the idea of this story and Trish. **

* * *

**_._**

_**Chapter Ten: Christmas**_

_**.**_

It was a week before Christmas and everyone was working as fast as they could. Bernard was doing inventory and checking up on the elves who were fixing up Santa's sleigh for that Christmas, to make sure nothing broke or would fall off during flight, aka, Charlie.

Trish and her department wasn't as busy as the other elves, considering it was a week before Christmas and all the difficult toys children asked for had already been designed weeks before. It was very unlikely a child would send in a letter the day before Christmas Eve asking for a bicycle that had a built in radio and a gum dispenser that never ran out. So most of the time the last week before Christmas the elves in the blueprints room were dismissed early and they'd help out around the shop.

Trish knew she couldn't really "help" anyone after the last thing that happened on her first day in the factory, so she helped Abby and Judy bring trays of hot chocolate to Santa and his family and the elves around the factory making sure not to enter the kitchen again, afraid she'd get in trouble.

At the current moment, Abby was acting in a rush and told Trish she didn't need any help at the moment. Same with Judy, so Trish decided to pay her favorite Reindeer a visit: Comet.

But, when Trish got to the stalls of the reindeer, Comet _and_ Vixen were gone and so was Santa's sleigh.

Trish stared around the stalls, wondering where Santa could have gone until she spotted Bernard standing where the sleigh was suppose to exit and enter out of.

"Hey! Bernard!" Trish called, running up to him. He looked slightly nervous when Trish got a look at his face, "Where's Comet and Vixen? And Santa's sleigh?" she asked. Bernard nodded, "Right, right, no one's told you." he mumbled.

"Told me what?"

"Santa went to get his family for Christmas." Bernard told her. "Family? But Mrs. Claus and Buddy are already here."

Bernard nodded, "Remember when I explained to you the Clause of Santa?"

Trish nodded.

"Well, Santa, before known as Scott, had a family. He was divorced and has a son named Charlie. They found out about him becoming Santa, Charlie being able to come to the pole the night Scott became Santa, and they also helped him find a wife, Mrs. Claus, who was Charlie's principal."

"So that's why she's the teacher of the Elfementary School?" she asked, slightly chuckling. Bernard nodded, "Yes and this is the last Christmas Charlie will have before he goes off to college and Santa wants him here, which means Charlie's mother and step father and little sister will be coming too."

"Oh that's so great! What are the others names?" She asked. "His mother's name is Lora, Step Father is Neil and little sister is Lucy."

The two of them stood, waiting until they saw the red sleigh fly in to the pole. Bernard and Trish quickly moved out of the way as Comet and Vixen came in for a landing. Trish watched, trying her best at holding back her excitement to see new people that were family to Santa.

A tall boy with messy brown hair jumped out of the sleigh; Charlie, "No matter how many times I ride your sleigh dad, that never gets old." he grinned. Santa stepped out of the sleigh, handing the reigns over to the elves who worked with the reindeer, "Glad to hear that, sport."

A woman with dark hair stepped out of the back of the sleigh with a man with reddish brown curly hair and they both helped out a young girl with bright red hair; Lora, Neil and Lucy.

"Uncle Scott, I have to agree with Charlie! Riding your sleigh is so much fun. It's one of my favorite things about visiting you and Aunt Carol." Lucy said, walking up to Santa.

"I have to give you credit, Scott, if Neil was Santa I don't think he'd ever be able to make a smooth landing like you always do." Lora chuckled. Neil gave her a look, "Hey!" but he ended up chuckling look.

Bernard walked up to them, and Trish followed him, but stood behind him. "Welcome back Santa." he said then turned to Charlie and his family, "I hope you all had a good trip." he said.

Charlie smiled, "Yeah, thanks Bernard. Good to see you too."

Bernard chuckled and slightly nodded his head. "We have your rooms all set up that are right off Santa, Mrs. Claus and Buddy's rooms." he explained.

"That's right, so let's get going because it's a week before Christmas and we have a lot of work to do here!" Santa said enthusiastically.

"Oh, I'll help with the bags Santa!" Trish butted in, grabbing two of the bags out of the sleigh. "Oh, who is this?" Lora asked.

"Oh, sorry ma'am. I'm Trish. I'm new to the Pole. It's nice to meet you." she said to them.

"Well it's nice to meet you too." Lora said smiling. Charlie leaned into his father, "I don't know how to do it dad. I could never remember all the children's names of the world and the elves too." he chuckled. "Yeah well it's easy to remember her name since she's Bernard's roommate and it's still a shock to Me." he chuckled.

"What?!" Charlie asked, half shocked half trying to hide his laugh. Bernard gave them a look, not hearing the conversation the two had just had.

Santa shook his head to Charlie mouthing '_not here_' to him. Charlie nodded and the group walked out of the stables and down the colorfully decorated halls of the workshop.

Lucy trailed behind the group and stood next to the railing and watched the elves on the first floor making the toys and wrapping the presents. Trish, who was standing next to Lucy, stared at her. _I'm only a little bit taller then her. _She thought.

Santa opened the door to his office/home living room and Carol was sitting on the sofa feeding Buddy some crackers. Her face lit up, "Oh! It's so great to see you all!" She said happily, standing up with Buddy in her hands.

Charlie smiled, "It's nice to see you too, Carol. Can I?" he asked. Carol gave him a look. He half smiled, "Sorry. May I?" he asked, holding out his hands. Carol smiled and nodded handed the small toddler to Charlie. "Hey Buddy. Remember me? You're big brother Charlie?" he asked, smiling.

Carol gave Lora and Neil a hug then bent down slightly to hug Lucy, "Did you guys have a good sleigh ride?" She asked. Lucy nodded, "Uncle Scott even made a detour so we could fly over the Eiffel tower!" she said happily.

Bernard walked over to Trish, who was trying to pick up another bag that Neil and Lora set on the floor once they walked in. He tapped her shoulder, "Their rooms are right next door. Lora and Neil's are the room on the right, Charlie and Lucy's room is on the left, alright? I'll help with the bags." he said, picking them up. The two walked out of the room and Charlie waited until the door closed to lead his father over to the book shelf.

"Alright, so I thought Bernard never wanted a roommate? that's why he lived alone." Charlie asked.

Santa nodded, "That's what I was thinking when Trish left permanently, I thought he'd be happy to have his home back again. But not even a week of Trish gone she moved back in with Bernard as his permanent roommate."

Charlie thought for a second, "Permanent? So they're like toge-"

"No." Santa interrupted. "She's just not going to be looking for her own place now. She is gonna live there until, I guess, she or Bernard starts a relationship with someone."

Charlie nodded, "yeah, so if Bernard got married she'd have to leave since it was his house first."

Santa nodded, "And if she left because of the same thing she can't kick him out since it was his home all along. But," Santa chuckled and pointed to Carol, "_She_ thinks those two will end up liking each other."

Charlie half smiled, "I don't really know that Trish girl that well, but it's kinda hard to see Bernard liking, _in that way_, her or anyone. And I'm not trying to be rude to Bernard either."

Santa nodded, "Yeah, Bernard's more of a worker not a lover."

"Cupid!" Buddy said, his hands in his mouth covered in drool. Carol looked at the boys and walked over to them, taking Buddy away from Charlie, "I think I know what you two are talking about, and you have no right to talk about someone's love life." They heard the door open and they saw Bernard and Trish reappear without the bags. Carol leaned in and whispered, "Leave that up to Cupid. Right Buddy?" she asked. The toddler nodded and they walked back over to Lora and Neil.

Lucy walked over to Trish, "I don't remember seeing you last time I was here. And you said before you were new here."

Trish nodded, "Yeah I showed up in a few days before October. I work in the Blueprints room and I'm Bernard's roommate."

"What do you mean you showed up?" Lucy asked. Lora interrupted, "Lucy, don't be rude." Lora told her, "Sorry Trish." She said to her. Trish nodded, "its fine. I don't mind telling. I was Jack Frost's elf before he was defrosted, then he let me go and a few years later I came here." she explained, shortening the original version.

Lucy nodded, "Did you know Jack Frost froze my parents and I was the one who defrosted him on Christmas Eve?" she asked. Trish laughed, "No, I didn't. When Jack came home he didn't really tell me how he was defrosted, just told me I was free to go and I left."

Lucy nodded, "You live with Bernard?" she asked, causing Bernard to look over at the two girls. Trish nodded, "Yup, we're roomies!"

Trish thought for a moment, "Hey, how about I take you to get some yummy chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate in honor you coming to the pole?" She asked. Lucy's face brightened and she ran over to her mother, "Can I go with Trish, mom? Please?!" she asked.

Lora looked at Trish, "Um, have her back before dinner time, alright?" she asked. Trish nodded and she and Lucy walked out the door.

**_._**

_**Later that day**_

**_._**

Trish and Lucy had become instant friends, both laughing about silly jokes and how stupid some kids could be because of boys or celebrities. Trish found it funny she was connecting to an eleven year old, but she pushed it aside and they continued talking about whatever their minds fell to.

"What do you think you'll get for Christmas, Lucy?" Trish asked as they walked a little farther away from the village.

Lucy shrugged, "I've been asking my parents for a cell phone. I've wanted one and Charlie got one when he was twelve and I turn twelve a month after Christmas, so it's only fair."

"Did you ask Santa for anything?"

"Uncle Scott? Yeah, I've sent him a latter asking him to talk my parents into it. It's the only thing on my list. I hope he's talked to them about it." Lucy explained.

Trish nodded and, subconsciously, Trish pulled at her ears and then dug her hands into her coat pocket. "What do you want, Trish?" Lucy asked.

Trish raised an eyebrow, "Me? I'm an elf; I don't think I can ask Santa for something for Christmas."

"But the elves should get something for Christmas. Uncle Scott told me that he gets a three month break after Christmas and so do the elves and then in April they all start back on preparing. Don't the elves get presents too?"

Trish nodded, "We can buy presents for each other, but I don't think Santa comes to each of our houses and gives us presents. We could have made our own presents and then Santa just delivers them."

Lucy nodded, slipping the take-out cup of Hot Chocolate she ordered at the last Cocoa place they stopped at, "Who do you think will buy you a present?"

Trish shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, I'm living with Bernard but I don't think he'd get me a present and I don't know that many people that well for them to get me something."

"Did you get him one?"

Trish nodded, "I didn't _get_ him one, I _made_ him one. I drew him a picture."

Lucy's face brightened, "Oh, that's so nice! My mom's always saying how homemade gifts mean more because they're from the heart!"

Trish grinned, "Ha, thanks. I only drew the picture though because Bernard is a hard-to-figure-out kind of guy. I can't really think of what he'd like as a gift. Maybe next Christmas I'll know what to get him. But this year he's stuck with my drawing."

"You're an elf that works in the Blueprints room, right? So that means you're a great drawer! I'm sure he'll love you're picture!" Lucy said.

Trish nodded, "Yeah, and maybe he'll hang it up because he doesn't have any pictures hanging on his walls. It's so plain." she laughed.

Trish turned stopped and realized she was straying too far from the factory, "Oh, we better turn around. It's almost six and I have a pretty good feeling that's right before dinner time, as your mother put it. Let's go."

Lucy sighed, "oh, alright." and they turned around and walked back.

"Is there anything you want for Christmas though, Trish? If you didn't ask Uncle Scott for anything." Lucy asked. Trish pulled at her ears again, "Well…I kinda gave my hat away to these elves who were building a snowman, so I need a hat but I just haven't had the time to get one. So, yeah a nice hat would work as a present." she explained.

Lucy nodded and then challenged Trish to a race back to Santa's office, Trish happily taking Lucy up on the offer. Lucy threw her cup away and they ran in the snow back to the factory.

They were completely out of breath once they got to the second floor of the factory and to the door of Santa's office/living room area. Trish opened the doors for Lucy and they walked inside, still trying to catch their breaths.

"You guys run all the way here?" Santa asked from the couch. Trish grinned, "Could you tell?"

Lucy plopped down on the couch next to her mother and Trish backed away to the door, "Well, since you're family's here Santa," She paused for another breath, "I'll leave you now. Nice meeting all of you." and she left.

Lucy watched Trish leave and then saw Bernard walk in from the opposite direction from where Trish left. He walked over to Santa and whispered something to him, causing Santa to stand up, "Excuse us a moment. Their's a problem in wrapping. I'll be right back."

"Oh, mind if I come along dad?" Charlie asked. Santa shook his head, "Naw, come on, Sport." and Charlie followed them to the door.

Lucy quickly stood up and ran over to Bernard before he walked out behind Santa and Charlie, "Bernard, wait!" she called.

Bernard stopped, a slightly anxious look on his face, "Yes, Lucy?" he asked. Lucy stood extra close to him and pointed for him to bend down to her height. He did.

She covered her mouth and his ear and whispered to him, "Trish would like a nice hat for a Christmas present, just so you know." And then she turned and walked back to the couch. Bernard gave her a quizzical look before turning and walking out of the room.

_I completely forgot about a Christmas gift for Trish. _He thought, before pushing it aside and turning down a hallway to the wrapping room.

**.**

_**Christmas Eve**_

**_._**

It was eleven twenty Christmas eve, and Trish had snuck away from the factory to finish wrapping Bernard's gift.

She had framed the picture she drew for him and wrapped it in a green paper and used a red ribbon with gold trimming and tied a corner. She wrote a small note on the cover:

_For Bernard. Merry Christmas and thank you so much for letting me be your roommate. You should know you're one of my closest friends, Bernard. Sincerely, Trish. _

She walked out of her room and down the hall and back to the door to Bernard's bedroom. She knew she didn't need to knock; Bernard was at the factory helping load Santa's magic bag with the presents.

She quietly opened the door and stepped inside. The room was still as plain since the last time she was in there. She walked up to his bed and placed the present on his bed and then quickly left the room. She ran to get her coat and scarf and left the house to return to the factory.

She walked into the factory and saw all the elves putting their finishing touches on the last of the presents and cart by cart carried to Santa's magical bag in the sleigh.

Trish ran up the stairs, making sure not to get into anyone's way and into Santa's office. Even though Santa was busy talking to either Bernard or Curtis on his cell phone, everyone was sitting around the coffee table with an ice cream cake sitting in the middle and a candle that looked like the number "3" on it that was lit. They were singing happy birthday to Buddy.

Trish smiled and sat next to Lucy, who motioned her over to sit with her. Carol helped Buddy blow out his candle and everyone clapped, cutting the cake and passing it around.

"It's so cool how Buddy gets birthday presents Christmas Eve and Christmas presents Christmas day." Lucy said, taking her cake from Carol.

Carol shook her head, "Actually, Scott and I decided we'd have cake and everything on his birthday, but he won't open any of his presents until Christmas day. So they'll be mixed in with each other." she explained.

Santa finally hung up his cell phone and made his way over to the couch. He kissed Buddy on the top of his head and took a freshly cut piece of cake, "Happy Birthday, son."

Charlie finished up his cake quickly, "Hey, be careful dad. Don't fill up on cake when you have a world full of cookies and milk waiting for you."

Santa laughed, "Please, one piece of cake won't cause me to lose my filling of milk and cookies tonight."

They all finished the cake and walked out of the room, following Santa to the stables where the reindeer and sleigh was waiting for him. Charlie suited up, putting on his heavy navy green jacket and black ski cap, stuffing his gloves in his coat pocket, just in case. Bernard appeared outside the entrance of the stables holding Santa's red coat, hat and leather gloves.

He handed the coat first to Santa, then gloves and lastly the hat. They made it to the sleigh and Santa hoped in, Charlie getting in on the other side. Santa kissed Carol goodbye and then gave Buddy a kiss, while Charlie hugged his mom and Neil then lastly Lucy.

"Do you have the list, sir?" Bernard asked. Santa nodded, pointing to the list hooked to the inside of the sleigh.

"Alright." he said before stepping aside. "Be safe, Scott. I love you." Carol, like every Christmas Eve, told him smiling. He smiled back, "I always am. I love you two, too." He turned to Charlie, who was strapped into the seat and smiling out of excited, "Ready?" Santa asked him.

"Charlie nodded, "Ready dad."

"Let's go!" Santa said before snapping the reigns and the reindeer flew out of the stables and out of the pole.

All the elves and everyone ran after them to watch, and once the sleigh was out of sight, they all cheered and danced, happy that it was twelve o'clock and Santa was off to deliver the presents to the nice children.

Trish and Lucy hugged and jumped, both caught up in excitement from that night.

Bernard leaned up against the stable wall, arms crossed and grinning proudly. As the crowd decreased to everyone moving from group to group to talk, he saw her. Trish smiling happily and hugging Lucy, them jumping in circles with their arms clutching each other at the elbow.

He didn't know it, but his grin turned into a smile that actually showed his teeth, and it stayed planted on him until Trish's eyes caught his and her face sank from the excitement to a blank, shocked face. He quickly averted his eyes and looked over at the other elves. Slowly, the toothless grin came back to his face.

Trish walked up to him.

"Merry Christmas!" She shouted slightly over the crowd. Bernard nodded, "Merry Christmas."

"Why aren't you jumping and celebrating?" she asked. Bernard shrugged, "Never really found it that necessary." He glanced behind her at Lucy, "You and Lucy have become great friends, haven't you?"

Trish looked behind her and then back at Bernard, showing her happiness, "Yeah. I mean, their might be a one thousand four hundred and ninety-nine year old age difference but I don't let that get in my way. We really hit it off."

Bernard nodded and started to walk away, "Where ya going?" Trish called. Bernard turned around, "Home. It's been a long day and I don't ever stay after for the big Christmas party the elves have. Good night Trish and see you tomorrow." he said, waving to her and disappearing into the crowd.

Trish stood there for a moment, another blank look across her face and then a cold chill before Lucy ran up to her and hugged her again, snapping her out of her daze, and then Trish returned to her excitement.

Bernard was half way home and he could still hear all the excitement that was happening in the factory.

He knew that they always had one of the elves DJ-ing the Christmas party until two. Which is why Santa had his home and office sound proof, so the noise wouldn't disturb Mrs. Claus and Buddy and their guests when they wanted to sleep and the elves were still celebrating, but the only people Bernard could think of that wouldn't stay up was Buddy, only because he was three and tired.

A few days before Trish had set up a few outdoor fairy lights in the bushes outside Bernard's house and they lit up, flashing, making the house light up. He opened the door, not surprised it was unlocked, since Trish hardly ever remembered to lock the door.

The Christmas tree lights were on too, and the candles for _Santa's Village_ were lit too. He hung up his jacket and scarf, and took a moment to stare at the sparkling tree. He and Trish really did do a good job on the decorating.

He made his way to his room, but when he opened the door he was surprised to see the green wrapped gift on his dark red comforter.

He walked up to it and picked it up, reading the note in his head and smiling, "That can't be right. She must be closer to Judy or Abby then me." he said half heartedly.

He pulled off the wrapping, being careful not to rip the note and pulled out a picture frame.

The picture in the frame was him. A hand drawn picture of him. It was black and white, and he was working in his recliner in the living room. You could see the fireplace on the right side of it, but it slowly faded out of the picture, as did the rest of the shadows and lines that weren't of Bernard and his chair. In the upper left hand corner it said "_Bernard at Work_" and in the bottom right hand corner under the faded fireplace it said "_By Trish_"

He half smiled, touching the glassed that separated his figures from the paper. He walked over to his closet and grabbed a red sparkling bag that was sitting on the shelf by the door and ran out of his room into the living room.

He placed the red bag with the green thin paper inside of it on the coffee table and Bernard started digging through the Christmas boxes that were set up in the corner behind the tree. He pulled out a hammer and ones of the nails Trish had used to hang up the reefs and walked over to the middle of the room, hammer and nail in one hand and the picture in the other.

Finally he picked a spot. He walked behind his recliner and the small table next to it and placed the picture on the small table and started hammering the nail into the wall at an angle. He placed the hammer down and hung up the picture, making sure it was perfectly straight.

_Now when she comes home she'll see I opened it and hung it up. _He smiled, taking another look at the picture.

He walked around and grabbed the red bag and placed it next to the tree, facing the doorway so when Trish came home she'd see the present also.

He took the tag that was on the bag's handle and opened it up so anyone could see it said "_To Trish, From Bernard._" on it.

He then stood up and went into his room for a long deserved sleep.

**.**

_**An hour later**_

**_._**

Trish slowly walked into the house. She had drunk her weight in hot chocolate and yummy foods that were at the party. She believed she'd never be hungry again until next Christmas. She hung her jacket and scarf on the hook next to Bernard's and when she turned around to look at the living room the light brown frame on the wall caught her eye.

She smiled, her left hand clutching her right arm's elbow, _He opened it._

She was about to walk right past the tree until the rainbow colored fairy lights lit up the red sparkly bag on the floor and Trish stopped.

Meanwhile, Bernard heard the front door open and close and he instantly sat up in his bed. His hat was on his nightstand, and instead of a matching pajama set, he was wearing a white tank top and gray, loose fitting sweat pants.

He heard footsteps out in the living room and he got up from his bed. He slowly and quietly opened his bedroom door and walked quietly down the hall to the living room. He finally felt like a child on Christmas Eve when they heard Santa down in their living room, and how they'd be extra quiet sneaking downstairs to see him, scared that if they made a noise he'd disappear. He leaned on the edge of the wall, behind the recliner and next to his picture.

Sitting on the floor, staring at a lavender ski cap with a green and red zigzags going around it, was Trish. She stared at the hat, and didn't notice Bernard at all. He placed his hands deep in his pants pocket and wondered what the blank look on her face meant.

Finally he decided to speak up,

"I love you're drawing."

Trish blinked and looked over at Bernard. She looked back down at the hat and then back at Bernard, a smile on her face, "Thank you."

**.**

_**To be continued…**_

**_

* * *

_**

A/N:

did you like it?

yeahh...i kinda went against the law of age in this chapter....i wrote before that it was 3 years after the 3rd movie, and if you read online like i did, in the 3rd movie it was 3 years after the second one, and in the second one Charlie was (most likely) in his first year of high school and in the 3rd movie he was (most likely) in his senior year of high school. So right now in this chapter he should have been in his (probably) 3rd year of college....hehe...but i ignored that and forgot about that fact. and i couldnt change it cuz i just realized that now as I'm publishing this. ^^; haha

so sorry about that. just ignore it. lol

okay, so after this the Bernard and Trish romance BEGINS (you mean it hasnt started?) haha. their might be some moments in past chapter but I plan on giving them more moments ;) haha

oh and i dont think i'll be able to update every 2 days like i planned :( but I'll try to update as soon as i can!

oh, and on a side note, any of ya'll read the book "The Lovely Bones"? Cause i just finished it and i cant wait for teh movie to come out!! haha I'm excited about that :D and the trailer for the movie has been playing a million billion times on all the stations I watch. so i'm even more excited XD haha....anyways....

_review_/alart/fave/all that jazz

tootles!

~~~Taylor


	12. Parents & Parties

**A/N:**

**heyy I'm back earlier then I planned :)**

**i guess i was just bored since the last time i posted (which was like a day ago) and i just kept writing and writing (since i have no life). oh well. I'm getting use to working on stuff since school starts back for me Wednesday. ugh...**

**anyways, im gonna spare you guys the details. i just kept writing and writing and WRITING!!! this chapter is longer then most. an "attraction" happens to them in this chapter. nothing bit but it turns out their is another little person working to get those two together XD haha who do you think the little one is? oh yeah. and you get to read about Bernard AND Trish's parents! yay!? haha anyways, enjoy this chapter :)**

**i do not own the santa clause or bernard. only trish. :P**

* * *

_**.**_

_**Chapter Eleven: Parents & Parties**_

**_._**

At seven o'clock the next morning, Bernard was still asleep and Trish was sitting on the tall chair at the bar, eating a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch she talked Bernard into buying for her the last time he went food shopping.

She jumped when the phone rang, and then heard Bernard shout "Don't touch it! I'll get it!"

She chose to listen to him and continued eating. But after four rings and Bernard not coming out of his room she leaned on the bar and reached over to the phone and grabbed it.

"Hello?" she asked. Their was a pause at the other end, then a female voice spoke. "Um, hello. I'm looking for Bernard but I think I might have dialed the wrong-"

"No, he's here." Trish interrupted. She saw Bernard run out of his room, wearing his normal attire only missing the belt around his shirt and his hat was in his hands then on his head.

She held out the phone and he pressed the bottom end against his chest so who ever was on the other end couldn't hear. "I told you I'd get it!"

"Yeah and it kept ringing and you had yet to come get it so I did. What's the big deal?" She asked. Bernard was about to say something else when the person on the other end started talking.

"Sorry, hi." Bernard said into the phone.

"Who was that?" The woman asked. Bernard glanced at Trish, who just gulped down an extra large spoon full of cereal. He raised an eyebrow and turned around, "It was no one, mom." he whispered.

He heard Trish choke. "_Mom_!?" she said. Bernard waved a hand at her, not turning around to see if she was alright.

"What was that?" His mother asked. Bernard shook his head, "Nothing important." he said quickly.

"Mhmm." She said. "Why didn't you call to wish us a Merry Christmas?" She asked. Bernard sighed, "It's seven in the morning, the day after our busiest work day of the year. Forgive me if I wanted to sleep in before I called you."

"Mhmm. Well?"

He sighed again, "Merry Christmas."

"Thank you. Merry Christmas, Bernard. Oh, and I think I have a good present for you!" she said happily.

"And that is?" Bernard asked. "Well, you know I still keep in touch with my friends back at the Pole and one of my friends has a daughter a few years younger then you and-"

"Mom~!" He groaned, "No. I don't want you fixing me up with anyone!"

"But-But-But you're so-so-so _old_!" She said sadly.

He sighed and saw Trish try to hide her giggle as she walked past him and into the kitchen to wash off her bowl. "Thanks, that makes me feel so warm inside."

She sighed, "You're not getting any younger and it's time you found a nice girl and settled down."

Trish jumped up on the counter next to the sink and stared at Bernard, who was now leaning on the opposite wall. "Awww, does Bernard's mommy wanna fix him up with a little girlfriend?" She asked in a baby tone.

Bernard glared at her and waved his hand. "Who _was_ that?" His mom asked again, slightly annoyed.

Bernard thought for a moment, staring around the room, "That was my…roommate." he finally said. "Oh. Well, you're roommate has a very girlish voice. Is he one of the elves that look like they haven't hit puberty yet?"

Bernard rolled his eyes, "Mom, I don't think I should tell you too much information about my roommate."

"Alright, alright, fine. You're father wants to talk to you."

"Wait, mom I really don't think-!" But Bernard was too late.

"Hello Bernard." His father said. Bernard nodded, "Hi Dad."

"Awww!!! It's Bernard's daddy now! I wanna say hi!" Trish said happily. Bernard sent her a death glare.

"You're mother might be a little naive but I'm not. That's a girl, isn't it?" his father asked. Bernard nodded, "Yes, you're right. But she's just my roommate and friend."

"Aww, that hurts. And I thought we had something special, Bernard." She said in a sarcastically sad tone.

Bernard covered his mouth and the receiver and whispered into the phone, "Trust me, you won't ever be calling her daughter-in-law. _Ever_!"

"Mhmm. Well, it's not my business to help you with your love life or anything. You're mother just loves checking in on your every now and then. I'm just gonna say Merry Christmas and roommate or girlfriend or anything, Merry Christmas to her too. Want me to put your mother back on?" he asked.

Bernard sighed, "No. Their really isn't anything left to talk about and I don't want to listen to her tell me about a girl I should try dating."

"Alright, bye son."

"Bye dad. Tell mom I said bye too." and Bernard hung up the phone.

He glanced at Trish, "I don't want your butt on my counter."

"Don't you mean _our_ counter, dear?" she asked jokingly. He gave her another look and she jumped down. "That was you're parents?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes and thank you for all those comments while I was talking to them. That really helped." he answered. Trish grinned, "I know. I'm just a peach, aren't I?"

Bernard nodded, "Yeah well when you're parents ever call I'll do the same thing to you." he said, pulling out the milk from the fridge.

Trish stood on her tiptoes and twirled around and off the tiled floor of the kitchen and onto the carpet of the living room and jumped back up onto her seat at the bar, "Right, like that would ever happen." she mumbled.

Bernard poured himself some cheerios and gave her a look, "Why's that?"

She chuckled; _I guess I didn't tell him that little detail about me going to stay with Jack._

"I don't know my parents." she stated simply.

Bernard stopped mid bite and stared at her. She shrugged, "It's _not_ a big deal!"

"What? How is it not a big deal?" He asked, putting his bowl down on the counter. She shrugged, "You remember how it was back then. The year was like, what? 509 back then? BC, AD I don't know! Their were dragons and other things human people wouldn't believe! My parents were running from this _thing_ and I guess the thing could blow fire because the tree above us caught fire and it fell and forced me to let go of my mom's hand. I heard her scream and back then their wasn't even English so it was in that weird stone age language no one even remembers. I didn't know what to do and since I was a scared little ten year old I ran in a different direction as my parents and I didn't even know the difference between elves and humans back then and I didn't even know I had magic."

"Didn't your parents explain it to you?" Bernard asked. She shook her hand.

"No. And I was scared so I was crying and I kept thinking 'Fire is hot! Opposite of hot is cold! I wanna be some place cold!' and I teleported right in front of Jack's home at the time. He saw me, saw my ears and explained to me the difference between elves and humans and how he was a magical figure and he said I could be his elf and if I agreed I'd get protection and a home and food. I took him up on that offer and I never saw my parents after that."

"You never went looking for them?" Bernard asked. She shook her head, "I never thought of it until years later. And by then I was too busy with Jack and his craziness to even think of leaving to look for them. It was still a really dark time and soon I just gave up looking all together. It's not a big deal. I'm sure they've moved on and had other kids or something." she explained.

Bernard stared down at his feet, "So…do you even remember what they look like? Their names?" he asked.

Trish shook her head, "Not really. I remember my dad had dark brown hair and my mom had red hair. I guess that's how I got my light brown hair color. But I don't really remember anything else. And as for names…no. I just can't remember. I can't even remember the language back then but Jack understood it and he used his magic so I could learn English and told me the translation of my name was Trish. That was it." she explained.

Bernard could cut the tension in the air with a butter knife. "You know, the official Christmas party is tonight at six thirty." he finally said.

Trish nodded, "I know. I bought a dress for it."

Bernard nodded and glanced out of the window in the kitchen, "Do you, um, wanna get your coat and we can go play in the snow before we get ready and leave?" he asked.

Trish raised an eyebrow at him, "Seriously? You wanna play in the snow with me?" she asked. He nodded, "Unless you don't wanna."

Trish shook her head quickly, "no, no! I do! Um, let me go change outta my pajamas and grab my coat. You-You finish your breakfast." she said, jumping out of her chair and running down the hall to her room.

Bernard grabbed his bowl and continued eating.

A few minutes later Trish ran out of her room wearing a paid skirt and black leggings, her light lavender sweater and her hair in pigtail braids with her new hat on her head. "Ready?" He asked, putting his bowl in the sink.

She nodded. Bernard went back into his room to get his belt and fix his hat, since he had it backwards on his head.

He walked back out and they walked out the backdoor. Trish felt slightly awkward standing there in the snow with Bernard. She didn't really know what to do. After a few moments she felt a cold ball of snow land on the top of her head, on top of her new hat.

She looked over and saw Bernard grinning slyly at her. "Tag, you're it." he said. Trish took a moment to take this in and then smiled back at him, leaning down into the snow and making a snowball.

Bernard took off running around the backyard, hiding behind some of the bushes and small trees to avoid the snowballs Trish was throwing at him.

He was happy she was busy chasing him then remembering her past. After hearing practically her life story, for some reason in the pit of his stomach, he didn't want her to be sad so he suggested they play in the snow. Sure, he hadn't played in the snow for more then five centuries, but now that he was doing it again he was having a good time, even if only one other person was playing with him.

After ten minutes Trish was finally able to hit Bernard with a snowball and it was her turn to run and hide from him.

She ran to the side of the house and leaned up against the wall. Every second she'd peek out of the edge and see if Bernard found her hiding spot. She was surprised he wasn't even in the backyard anymore. She walked out of her hiding place, and planted her hands on her hips, looking around the yard for him.

She felt a cold hit of snow pile against the back of her neck and she turned around shocked to see Bernard at the other end of the side of the house.

"You went around, you sneaky little devil!" she said smugly. Bernard nodded, walking up to her with his hands behind his back. "Yeah, you can't outwit me, Trish. I'm very smart."

"Oh really?" she asked.

He nodded, "That's why I'm the head elf. Nothing get's past me and nothing can throw me off guard." he said, walking past Trish.

She gave him a look and quickly bent down, grabbed a hand full of snow while his back was still turned and grabbed his hat, throwing the snow on his head as a replacement.

"Hey!" he shouted, brushing the snow out of his curly hair. Trish ran across the yard and pulled off her cap and placed Bernard's beret on her head. She made a fish-like face, "How do I look? French?" she said in a silly accent.

Bernard ran at her and tried to grab his hat back; instead she pushed him away and threw her cap at him, "Take that one! I like this one better!" she said grinning, fixing the hat on her head.

"What a nice thing to say to the person you got you this cap." He said, holding the cap up. Trish rolled her eyes.

Bernard tried to run after her again and he caught her from behind. He tried grabbing the hat off her head but she grabbed the hat too and pulled it down. While all this was happening they were both laughing as hard as they could.

Trish quickly slipped in the snow and fell, pulling Bernard down with her. They were both sitting in the snow, laughing as hard as they could without crying. When Bernard had fallen with Trish his legs landed on either side of her, Trish being stuck in the middle sitting on her knees.

Bernard was finally able to grab his hat away from her and he put it back on his head, and pulled Trish's hat down on hers, covering her eyes.

"H-H-Hey!" she said in between her laughter. She pulled her hat up out of her eyes, and brushed back her bangs.

For a moment, Trish caught Bernard's eyes. She never really noticed how dark Bernard's brown eyes were. And then she noticed how long his eyelashes were. And then his eyebrows. They weren't all over the place like some guys eyebrows were. They were groomed and neat, like a profession had done them, but she doubted that. He had to have done them himself.

And then Bernard noticed Trish's eyes. They were a light shade of blue. Deep and sparkly. Almost like ocean eyes. She wasn't wearing eye shadow or liner or mascara, yet her eyes were able to _pop _without them. He thought that if he stared at them long enough he'd see fish or a wave crash down.

Neither of them realized the laughing had stopped and they were just staring at each other. They lost complete track of time and Bernard was so close to leaving her eyes and trailing down her face to her lips when something broke their moment.

"Bernard!" a slightly squeaky voice shouted.

They immediately jumped back from each other, both their faces bright red. Bernard and Trish both turned to look at the side of the house and saw Curtis appear after a moment, carrying, you know it, the elf handbook.

"What is it?" Bernard asked, slightly annoyed at Curtis showing up, but not really understanding why.

"Sorry to interrupt you the day of Christmas but you said yesterday you'd come into the Factory this morning at seven to help set up for the party. We were getting worried and since no one was picking up your phone I decided to show up myself." he explained.

Bernard stood up from the snow and brushed it off, "Right, right. I forgot. I'm on my way." He held out a hand to help Trish up, but she refused, her face still bright red and staring at the snow.

Bernard slowly took his hand back and ran over to Curtis, "I'll be back before the party. See ya, Trish." he called.

Trish nodded and made a fist in the snow, listening to the crunching noise it made.

_W-What was THAT?!_

_**.**_

_**That evening**_

_**.**_

It was seven o'clock that night and Trish knew she was going to be late if she waited for Bernard to come back home to change. But she didn't care. She'd rather show up late with a friend then early and alone.

She stared at her reflection in her bathroom mirror. She had curled her hair and was wearing an off the shoulder red dress top with a green ribbon around her waist and a velvet green skirt that went down to her knees with a thick white petticoat under it and white leggings.

She brushed off the top and skirt and walked out of the bathroom and back into her room. She grabbed a pair black Mary Jane's and strapped them on just in time to hear Bernard walk in the front door.

"Sorry I'm late Trish! Give me five minutes and I'll be ready!" he called. Trish leaned out of her doorway and caught a glimpse of Bernard running into his room.

Trish grabbed her light brown jacket and her scarf and walked out of her room, waiting in the living room for Bernard.

It was a little more then five minutes. Bernard walked out of his room, wearing long black pants, just a little baggy in the legs. A velvet looking dark red shirt like all his others, only their wasn't any gold trim and it was buttoned in the front. He still looked the same, with his dark green beret on his head.

"You look nice." Trish said. Bernard looked up, not realizing she was standing in the living room.

Trish noticed the grin appearing on Bernard's face and she half smiled, gripping the ends of her skirt, "What's that?" she asked.

He shook his head, "Oh, nothing. You just look different."

"Good different? Or bad different?" She asked. He nodded his head, "Good different. You look nice too, I mean." he answered.

Trish nodded, putting on her jacket and wrapping around her scarf, "Thanks. Ready to go?" she asked. Bernard nodded, walking over to the coat hooks and grabbed his coat and scarf.

As they walked out of the house Trish stared up at the strange ice-like sky. It was like a border around the North Pole. In the morning when it was bright the sparkling lights in the "sky" glowed like a rainbow. At night the lights changed to deep blue and light purple with a glowing white along with it. It didn't replace stars and a moon but it was a close second in Trish's book.

"Why do they have a party after Santa leaves and another party Christmas day?" Trish asked. Bernard shrugged, "The elves party after Santa leaves isn't official. They just like to dance and eat the left over cookies and stuff from the kitchen. And I guess they also do that because it's Santa's son's birthday. But the day of Christmas is when we have the official party."

"Does everyone show up? Will you're parents be there?" Trish asked, grinning at the last part. Bernard rolled his eyes and walked a little farther ahead of her, "All elves come, but some don't. My parents don't live in the Pole and neither does older elves so they don't really show up."

"What? You mean elves can leave the pole?" she asked. Bernard nodded, "It isn't common. My parents just didn't see the fun in building toys for their lifetime. I guess they didn't know the elves don't have to build toys, they can run their own shops in the Pole too."

"How do they get by? Won't people realize they aren't aging?" she asked. Bernard chuckled, "It's actually easy and hard. They just say they're seventeen, my mom saying she's short for her age, and they get jobs and live in apartments. They tell people they dropped out and got married. After about three years or four years they move away. They've lived all over the world." he explained.

"I don't think I could handle moving so much." Trish laughed. Bernard grinned, "They like it. They think moving is like an adventure."

They finally made it to the factory and walked up the stairs. Bernard opened the door for Trish and as they walked inside.

"Their's a room where we check our coats. Want me to check yours?" Bernard asked. Trish nodded and handed him her coat and scarf. Once he was gone she walked down the three steps to the factory floor and started looking around for Judy, Abby or Lucy.

As she looked around the crowded room she saw their were elves on both the first and second floor, and in the hallways. It really was a full house. And with the dim lights and everyone moving she thought it might be impossible to spot her friends or even Santa!

She was able to find a table with all the food and just stood their munching on chips until someone she knew came into view. She couldn't even see Bernard anymore. Not that she wanted to. She still felt red from that morning.

_It's just too insane what happened. I mean, yeah I thought Bernard was cute when I first met him but now he's just plain old Bernard. _She thought, trying to forget about looking for Bernard and started to look for her red haired little friend.

_Sure, Bernard has good potential for a relationship. He can be funny when he wants, he knows how to have fun he just doesn't show it, he's really smart and a great listener…wait why am I listing good things about Bernard? I should be looking for Lucy!! _

She quickly shook her head and walked away from the table, heading for the stairs to get a bird's eye view of the dance floor to try and find her friends.

"Hey, Trish!"

Trish turned and saw Santa walking up to her, in his coat and hat and Carol Claus in a red dress with white trim that went down to the floor, holding a dolled up Buddy.

"Hello Santa, Mrs. Claus, Buddy." Trish shouted over the slightly loud music. "Having fun?" Santa asked smiling.

Trish shrugged, "I can't really find anyone I know too well. I can't find Judy or Abby or Lucy or Mel. No one."

"What about Bernard?" Mrs. Claus asked. Santa gave Carol a look but Trish didn't notice it, "He checked my coat but I haven't seen him since."

Mrs. Claus started to look down at the dance floor, "Oh!" She said happily. She turned to her husband, "Dear, the council is here." She told him. Santa looked over the railing and nodded, "Ah, they are. Better go wish them a Merry Christmas!" and the three of them turned to leave.

Trish watched them leave and saw the council on the dance floor. As she watched them greet each other Mother Nature's eyes wondered from the rest of the legendary figures and looked to the second floor and met eyes with Trish.

Trish grinned and waved down at her. Mother Nature did the same.

_**.**_

_**Two hours later**_

_**.**_

The party was starting to lessen. Not as many elves were there compared to the beginning of the party and their was more room on the dance floor.

Trish was able to find Lucy and Charlie, who were helping the DJ-ing elf pick out the right music.

All three of them danced together next to the DJ station set up on the second floor. "Hey Trish!" Lucy shouted, since they trailed away from Charlie and was standing next to one of the speakers. "What is it?" Trish asked.

"Where's Bernard? Did he go home?" Lucy asked. Trish shrugged, "I don't really know. I didn't take him as a dancing kind of guy so he's probably not dancing. He's probably sitting at one of the tables or hiding in a corner."

Lucy looked over the railing at the dance floor, "How about you go find him and ask him to dance? Since the dance is almost over." She asked.

Trish gave her a look then looked at the dance floor as well, "I don't even think he'd dance with me let alone dance at all."

"Doesn't hurt to try. You look on the first floor and I'll look on the second floor." Lucy said, pulling Trish by the wrist to the stairs. Trish laughed and nodded her head, "Alright, but if he says no I'm telling him you put me up to it."

Lucy laughed and watched Trish run down the stairs. She quickly turned around and ran back to the DJ table to find Charlie.

"Hey Charlie!" Lucy shouted. Charlie looked down to see her, "What's up?" He asked. Lucy made him squat down to her level and she whispered into his ear. Charlie gave her a look, "Seriously?"

Lucy nodded. He shrugged, "Alright, fine. Tell me when they meet up. So, go keep watch." he ordered. Lucy nodded "Yes sir!" she said running over to the railing and leaning over it, finding Trish on the dance floor.

Trish didn't have too hard a time walking across the dance floor. Most of the elves were getting tired and sitting down or leaving the party.

As some of the blinking white lights flashed across the back wall near the door Trish finally saw Bernard. Arms crossed over his chest and he was leaning against the wall watching everyone.

Trish walked up the steps and over to Bernard, "What are you doing?" she asked him. "What are you doing?" he asked.

Trish gave him a look. "I haven't seen you on the dance floor all night." she told him. Bernard nodded, "Because I didn't want to dance. You weren't on the dance floor either."

Trish nodded, "Because I was dancing with Charlie on the second floor." Trish didn't realize she didn't say Lucy and Bernard's face did a weird twist from blank to shock to blank again and his eyes slightly darkened.

"Oh, I bet you guys had fun."Trish nodded her head. "We did. Me, Charlie _and_ Lucy." She corrected. Bernard nodded, "Oh, now Lucy's in on this."

"What does that mean?" Trish asked. Bernard shrugged a faked confused look on his face, "Nothing, just that one minute you were dancing with just Charlie and then Lucy was in on it."

Trish shook her head, "I was wrong. I was going to correct myself but then you said I bet we had fun and I chose to correct myself then."

"So you weren't just dancing with Charlie?" he asked. Trish nodded, "Gosh you kinda sounded like some jealous boyfriend or something." she mumbled.

"Boyfriend? Ha! As if." Bernard told her. Trish sent him a glare then shook her head, "Gosh, no! Forget it! Do you wanna dance?" she asked.

He gave her another look, "I don't dance."

She sighed, "Fine. I'll be by the snack table. Come get me when you're ready to leave." and she turned to leave.

Trish felt annoyed at Bernard. _How could he think me and Charlie…?! Ugh! He's so frustrating! He's Santa's son for the love of Pete! _

Lucy sighed, _I don't know what those two were talking about but they obviously had a fight. _She thought.

"Charlie, I'll be right back!" Lucy called, running across the second floor to the stairs.

"Lucy! Mom told me to watch you!" Charlie called. Lucy ignored him and ran down the stairs, making sure to not be spotted by Trish and made her way over to Bernard.

"Hey!" Lucy called, hiding behind one of the pillars. Bernard looked over at her and walked up to her, "Something wrong Lucy?" he asked.

Lucy nodded, "What did you do to Trish?" she asked with a pout. Bernard looked shocked and his mouth was agape, "What did I do?! She was the one who said she was dancing with Charlie and then got all angry!"

"She was she was dancing with Charlie? Did she correct herself?" she asked. Bernard paused, "Well…yeah."

"Then why did she storm off?" Lucy asked. Bernard looked away from Lucy's eyes, "She asked if I wanted to dance and I told her I don't dance."

"Well their's your problem!" Lucy walked behind Bernard and started to push him towards the stairs to the dance floor. "Wha-what are you doing, Lucy?" he asked. "Go ask her to dance! She's mad at you and the only way you can make up for it is to dance with her! Just once!" she begged.

Bernard rolled his eyes, "If I ask her to dance will you leave me alone the rest of the night?" he asked. Lucy smiled and nodded. He sighed, "Alright." and started to walk onto the dance floor.

Lucy grinned and ran back over to the stairs to the second floor and back over to Charlie.

"Where were you?" he asked. Lucy shrugged, "I just wanted to tell Bernard something. Get ready, alright." Lucy said, walking over to the railing. She started to scan the floor for Bernard.

He was making his way to the table in the far wall. Trish was standing with her back to him. She was mixing her fruit punch with a sliced lemon out of boredom.

He tapped her shoulder. When she turned around her shoulders fell, "What now?"

"How nice." He said sarcastically to her. She sighed, "Ready to go?" she asked. He shook his head, "Um, Actually," he paused and coughed into his hand, "I was wondering if you wanted to dance."

She raised an eyebrow at him, "I thought you don't dance."

"_Don't_. Doesn't mean I _can't_." he corrected her. Trish stared at him, and then looked behind him at the slightly crowded dance floor. "Um, okay fine." she said. She took her cup and threw it in the closest trash can and then slowly followed Bernard onto the dance floor.

Lucy quickly turned around, "Charlie! Now!" she shouted. Charlie nodded and took the place as the DJ and flipped a few switches until the different colored lights changed to plain white lights slowly moving around the dance floor and a slow song turned on.

A lot of the dance floor crowd lessened and only a few couples were standing there, dancing. Trish and Bernard's face turned slightly pink, standing in the almost-center of the dance floor while a slow dance played.

Trish saw that Santa and Mrs. Claus were dancing and then giggled when she saw Abby slow dancing with Curtis.

"Um, do you wanna wait until a…um, a faster song comes on?" Bernard asked. Trish was about to nod when someone pushed her right into Bernard.

She turned her head and saw it was Judy who was the culprit, who was dancing with a blonde guy with a small spread of freckles across his nose. Most likely her husband.

She gulped, "Or we could just dance to this song and get it over with?" She asked.

Bernard's face was slightly flushed but slowly nodded, "A-Alright."

Trish grinned and placed her hands on his shoulders and Bernard hesitantly put his hands on her waist.

"If you get anymore awkward you'd need a clown nose." she laughed. "You think clowns are awkward?"

"They'd have to be to wear all that makeup and act so foolish." she shrugged. Bernard chuckled, "You're so weird."

Trish shook her head and stared down at their feet as they moved around in a circle.

_Is it just the light or is her face pinker then normal? Maybe she just put on too much blush or something and I'm just noticing now. _Bernard thought, studying the little part of her face he could see.

"You, um, really know how to dance." She finally said. Bernard nodded, "Yeah, well I've lived a long time. I've had time to practice."

Trish nodded and as the song came to an end and the two of them looked around the dance floor they saw all the couples share a small kiss.

Bernard's face turned red and he let go of Trish's waist, "Um, thanks for the dance." he told her.

Trish stared at him. She quickly leaned in and pecked his cheek then gave him a smile, "There. Now we're not the black sheep in the slow dancing floor." she told him.

She backed away from Bernard as the music changed to a techno style beat, "I'm gonna go meet back up with Lucy on the second floor, alright? You know where to find me when you're ready to leave." she called.

Bernard nodded, dumbfounded. Once Trish turned around Bernard touched his cheek.

Mrs. Claus, Abby and Judy were all watching and giggling with joy, while Trish was realizing what she just did and wondering why in the world she did it!

Bernard just stood there on the floor, thinking about what had just happened.

Mother Nature watched from the other side of the second floor, opposite of where Trish, Lucy and Charlie were. She was standing next to Cupid.

She glanced down at Bernard then at Cupid, "Just curious, but what are your plans for them?" She asked.

Cupid shrugged, "You know I never reveal my plans before V-Day. You and Mrs. C and Lucy are all just gonna have to wait it out the next two months." he explained.

Mother Nature pouted, "oh alright." she looked back down at Bernard, who was making his way back to his place by the door and then she looked over at Trish, who was dancing in a circle with Lucy.

"This will be an interesting two months, indeed." she grinned.

**.**

_**To be continued…**_

* * *

**A/N:**

**did you likeeeeee???? haha**

**i worked hard :)) I hope you guys enjoy this chapter cuz this will probably be the last chapter i post during my holiday break ); awwwww. after this its time for school and then it might take longer to post...darrrnnn...lol**

**anyways...not much to say. i just told you guys in the last chapter their would be more stuff with Bernard and Trish. This is probably gonna be like a 14 or 15 chapter story. 16 at the most. :) anyways.......**

**review/alart/fave/all that jazz(:**

**tootles!**

**~~~Taylor**


	13. Feelings

**A/N:**

**i am sooooo sorry!!!**

**its been like a month since i've posted a chapter and I am so sorry about that!!! **

**TAKS test is coming up and school has been killer! i've only been able to get out so much time for this story. :( i am so sorry. i feel bad. **

**and, this chapter is so short compared to the other chapters. i tried really hard! **

**the story is coming to an end tho. their are only 2 more chapters left, plus (maybe) a short epilogue. **

**anyways, thank you to everyone who have waited this out. i really appreciate it :)**

**i do not own The Santa Clause or Bernard. only Trish.**

* * *

**.**

_**Chapter Twelve: Feelings**_

_**.**_

It was already four weeks after Christmas. Trish couldn't believe how fast time had been flying.

Charlie, Lucy, Lora and Neil left two days after New Years. A lot of the elves left the pole for their vacations, but not too many. Elves preferred the cold then hot so they mostly went to England or Northern American for their vacations.

Trish and Bernard on the other hand, decided they wanted to stay in the Pole for vacation.

At the moment, Trish was hanging upside down from her bed and reading a book Lucy had lent to her before she left.

Bernard walked into the room, giving Trish a strange look. She glanced up from the thick book, "What? It's getting good!" she asked.

"What are you reading?" he asked, forgetting the reason he walked into her room. Trish looked back at the book, "_Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_. I read all the other books when I lived with Jack but after I left I didn't get a chance to read this one and Lucy brought it with her since she just got into the Harry Potter books and she let me borrow it. I'm at the part when Harry surrenders to Voldemort and he attacks him with the killing curse! So, what do you want?! It's getting good!" she explained.

Bernard rolled his eyes. "Geek."

Trish glared at him, "You're one to talk, mister know-it-all."

"Whatever. We need to start taking down the Christmas stuff."

Trish placed a bookmark in her book and sat right-side up, "But I thought keeping them up all year would keep us in the Holiday spirit!"

He gave her a look, "We're in the North Pole, we're elves, and we work and know Santa Claus himself. That's enough to keep anyone in the Holiday spirit."

She rolled her eyes, "Ugh, fine."

She followed Bernard out to the living room and they started to take the decorations down one by one.

After an hour they were finally done, inside and out, of taking down the lights and tinsel.

Trish plopped down on the sofa and sighed, "I forgot the reason why I never decorated my place after I left Jack. It was because I hated putting everything away."

"I'm pretty sure everyone hates that part of Christmas. Or any holiday for that matter." Bernard commented as he disappeared with the Christmas box then appeared back in the living room two seconds later, without the box.

"Do you wanna take Mrs. Claus' village back or should I?" I asked. Bernard gave me a look before turning to walk down the hall to his room. "Really? You were the one who brought it here. You bring it back."

She huffed, "Fine. Be back in a few." She stood up, grabbed the box and disappeared. Bernard looked back and saw the sparkling dust fall as Trish left and then walked back into his room.

As he closed his bedroom door he leaned against it, closing his eyes and thinking so hard a crease was made in his forehead.

He didn't understand. All of a sudden Trish started looking different to him. He knew she hadn't changed her hair or the way she dressed, but something about her just had to change because he _felt_ differently around her all of a sudden.

_What the heck is wrong with me? I've never ever felt this way about any other girl? Why now and why TRISH?! _He thought frantically.

"Back!" he heard Trish shout from the living room. He opened his door and walked out, slowing walking down the hall to see Trish brushing herself off of the dust.

"Welcome back." he called. Trish turned around and smiled once she saw Bernard "Thanks."

There it was again! Just from a simple thing like smiling gave Bernard the shivers and gave him the weird urge to press pause on some remote so he can stare at her smile forever. He didn't understand any of this!

"I'll be in my room." he mumbled, turning to leave.

"Aww, don't be like that! We should play a game or something!" Trish called. Bernard turned around and gave her a weird look, "Play what?"

"I don't know. Twister?" she asked grinning.

For some reason Bernard felt his cheeks heat up at the thought of playing a simple child's game like Twister with Trish.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." she said, waving her hand to dismiss the thought. She tapped her chin and walked up to Bernard, "Hmm…how about we go see if we can go see a movie?" she asked.

"I don't have a TV."

Trish rolled her eyes, "No! I mean, why don't we just teleport to Lucy's town and go see a movie there. I'm sure Lucy won't mind lending us a couple bucks for two tickets. Heck, she might even wanna go with us!"

Bernard shook his head, "let's stay in the North Pole. I'd prefer that."

She sighed and walked over to the couch, "Fine, be that way. Go in your room doing who-knows-what and I'll stay out here reading the rest of my book!"

Bernard nodded, "Sounds good to me." and walked down the hall. Trish was about to protest, saying she didn't really mean it, but Bernard had already closed his bedroom door and had no intention on opening it up for a while.

Trish sighed and completely forgot about the book and fell back on the couch, taking a nap.

_**.**_

_**An hour later**_

_**.**_

Bernard sighed, leaning back in his desk chair. The one thing he hated about being the head elf, he had to take care of all the hate mail Santa got every year.

They figured out a few years ago that sometimes the hate mail could get so mean it was a little harsh to let the young elves who worked in the mail room to read and sort through those letters, so they were just sent to Bernard.

He was finally done getting rid of them all, and cringed at the thought of getting more in a few months.

He finally stood up and walked out of his room. "Hey Trish, you wanna go out and get something to eat? I'm starved." He called, scratching the back of his head.

When he got no answer, he looked down the hall to Trish's room and then around the living room.

He grinned slightly to see Trish curled up on the sofa, hugging a pillow to her chest.

He walked over to her and kneeled down, "Trish wake up, it's almost eight o'clock." Bernard whispered to her.

Trish didn't budge.

Bernard sighed and stared up at the ceiling; _she's such a heavy sleeper. An earthquake could hit and she wouldn't wake up! _

Just then, Curtis was walking up to the front door when he saw Bernard through the front window. Curtis looked in.

Bernard glanced down at Trish, and, like a flash of lightning, he felt something pinch him from behind. He didn't even bother to look behind him to see what it was. Something came over him and he leaned in and kissed Trish.

Curtis gasped and a freaked out look appeared on his face with his mouth agape. He quickly knocked on the door a million times until Bernard swung it open, an angry look on his face, "What is it?!" he asked.

Curtis grabbed Bernard's arm and yanked him out of the doorway, then grabbing the door and closing it.

Bernard yanked his arm out of Curtis's grasp and stared at him annoyed.

Curtis was mouthing words, pointing back and fourth from Bernard, the front door and the window, nothing but mumbles of words coming out of his mouth.

Bernard was getting annoying, "Speak clearly!"

Curtis stopped, took in a deep breath and finally said, very loudly, "You-You kissed! You and her! I-I saw!" he kept repeating.

Bernard's face melted from annoyed to shock as he gripped Curtis's shoulders, "Wait! You saw me? You saw me kiss-?" He stopped when he saw Curtis nodding his head nonstop.

"How?!" he asked. Curtis pointed to the front window. Bernard's eyes grew wide. He was so close to shouting a very naughty word elves should never say.

He held his tongue and let go of Curtis, walked in front of the window and glared at him, "You shouldn't look into other peoples windows!" he said angrily.

Curtis gave him a look, "Don't change the subject! You kissed Trish-!" Bernard quickly ran up to him and covered his mouth, "Shhh! Shout any louder and my parents will hear you!" he removed his hands.

Curtis shook his head, "what were you thinking?! She's your roommate!"

Bernard glared at him and walked back to the front door, "What's the big deal? I wanted to kiss her so I did. She'll never know," he turned around and gave Curtis a stern look, "And you'll never tell, understand."

Curtis sighed, "Fine. I won't tell her you kissed her." he mumbled.

Bernard nodded, "Good. Now why'd you come over here?"

Curtis held out some papers, "Santa wanted me to deliver these to you." Bernard took them out of Curtis's hands and went back inside.

He stood there for a second then saw Bernard close the front window's curtains shut.

As Curtis turned to leave he mumbled, "But I never said I wouldn't tell Abby about this."

**.**

_**To be continued…**_

* * *

**A/N:**

**i hope you liked it. i really did try hard.**

**anyways, idk when the next chapter will come out. i'll try to write and upload it asap. but idk. maybe I'll post it on my birthday (which is next Sunday) :) so instead of a birthday present for me, its a present for you (and my present is your awesome reviews? lol) :D**

**anyways**

**_review_/alart/fave/all that jazz**

**tootles!**

**~~~Taylor**


	14. Finale

__

__

**A/N:**

**yay! here it is!!! the last chapter!!! *applause* *bows***

**lol yeahhh...this is the last chapter....unless you will be nice and review..then mayyyybe they'll be an epilogue ;)**

**anyways, i worked hard on this chapter and i hope you like it. :D anyways, im gonna shut up now so you can read. enjoy!!**

**i do not own The Santa Clause or Bernard. only Trish.**

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**_._**

**_Chapter Fourteen: Finale _**

**_._**

Curtis knocked on the door of Abby's apartment. A few seconds later she opened the door and happily invited him in.

"It's unusual to see you here, Curtis." she stated, walking back over to her place on the couch. He nodded, sitting next to her, "I know but I thought I'd let you know something."

She nodded, waiting for him to continue. He took in a breath, "You know how you, Mrs. Claus and Judy think Bernard and Trish make a cute couple?" he asked. Abby nodded a big smile on her face.

He nodded, "Right. Well, I saw something and I thought you should know…um," he paused.

"What? What?!" Abby asked happily, jumping a little in her seat. "I saw Bernard kiss Trish!" he finally spat out. He felt a pinch on the back of his neck.

--

Bernard had carried Trish into her room, thinking sleeping on the couch much have been uncomfortable. He had just pulled the covers over her when a weird flash went through his body and felt the urge to sneeze.

_'Is someone talking about me?' _he thought as he walked out of the room.

--

Abby's face lit up and she jumped up and over to the phone, "I have to call Judy! Then Mrs. Claus! Oh this is perfect! I knew they'd get together!"

Curtis stood up and tried to stop her happy rambling, "A-Abby! Wait, Abby!" he took the phone out of her hand and hung it up. She gave him a look, "What was that for?" she asked.

"You can't tell them! Bernard kissed Trish in her _sleep_! She has no idea he kissed her and if you tell Judy and Mrs. Claus it'll get around! Then it'll get back to Trish and she'll either be scared because in some way he took advantage of her in her sleep or she'll be mad that he kissed her without her knowing! And then," he gulped, "It'll get to _Bernard_ and he'll know it was me and-and who _knows_ what he'll do to me then!

"No, you have to promise not to tell! _Not. One. Soul_!" he asked her.

Abby gave him a look, "Fine, I won't tell. But can I hint it?"

"Abby!"

She held up her hands, "Alright, alright. I won't tell, or hint or nothin. I promise."

Curtis sighed, "Alright. Thank you Abby. I'll be going now." he said before completely vanishing into the air.

Abby stared at the phone and sighed before biting her lip, "Well…I know for a fact _Judy_ can keep a secret!"

**.**

**Next day**

**.**

Trish stared around the half empty factory. Even though it was break time elves still liked to hang around in the factory, work on toys for fun and clean up. Trish was there so she could bring Lucy's _Harry Potter_ book to Santa and he could bring it back to her.

Right then, as she walked up the stairs, she heard whispers from the other elves and every time she glanced their way, they'd look away or giggle. Maybe even both.

She was getting a little paranoid. Was something in her hair or on her face? Did she have a stain she couldn't see on her pants?

Once she reached the top of the stairway she looked back down at the elves, and they all looked away from Trish.

_What the heck is going on?! _She thought angrier.

She walked down the hall way to Santa's office, ripping off her scarf, hat and jacket as she did, her anger clearly showing on her face.

_I swear, if there is some stupid rumor going around I'm gonna beat the tar out of whoever started it! I mean, seriously, we're not high schoolers! We're elves who are over thousands of years old!_

She knocked on the doors of Santa's office and heard muffled giggles inside.

"Come in!" Santa yelled.

Trish pushed the door open and walked inside, noticing Mrs. Claus, Abby and Judy sitting quietly on the other side of the room.

Trish gave them a look before she walked over to Santa's desk and handed him the book.

"Ah, thank you Trish. I'm sure you enjoyed the book." Santa asked, taking the book out of her hand.

She nodded, "Yeah! I was sad when all those characters died though. But the epilogue was very cute."

Santa smiled at her and nodded, "That's good. Well, is that all?" He asked. Trish nodded, "Yeah. I should get back home. I told Bernard I was gonna try to bake a cake."

"Bake?" Santa asked, remembering the last time Trish tried to bake something. She grinned and tried to hide her laugh, "Bake. Buy. Same difference. Bernard will never know as long as I hid the box."

Santa chuckled and nodded, slipping on his reading glasses and looking down at the papers on his desk.

Trish turned and walked to the door. She glanced at the three girls on the other side of the room. They looked at her, with smiles glued to their faces.

Trish gave them a weird look before pulling the door open and walking out.

Judy and Abby giggled, "Did you see her? She's so oblivious to what's going on!" Abby said happily.

Mrs. Claus nodded, "You're right but it was wrong of you to break your promise to Curtis." she said, looking at Abby.

Abby looked at her hands, "I know, but I thought Judy could keep a secret!" she said, sending a look at Judy.

Judy's mouth went agape, "Well, I can't keep secrets from my husband! I thought he could keep his mouth shut!"

Abby shook her head, "Men always tell other men about things when they're doing men stuff. Like playing sports or working."

Judy huffed and crossed her arms. Mrs. Claus chose to step in there, "Now ladies, no need to argue. What's done is done. All that's left is for Trish to find out."

Now it was time for Santa to cut in, "Find out? How is she suppose to find out this "_rumor_" if no one will talk about it around her?" he said, making air quotes around _rumor_.

"It isn't a rumor! It's completely true! Curtis told me last night." Abby protested smugly.

"And it was probably turned around a million different ways and by the time it gets back to Trish or Bernard, it will be unbelievable." Santa said simply.

--

Trish stopped mid way down the hall and turned around. _I forgot ask him if we were having a Valentines party. _

She walked back down the hall and stood in front of Santa's door, about to knock when she heard the sounds of muffled voices behind the door.

She leaned down, under the stain glass windows of the door so they couldn't see her, and placed her ear against of the cold wood.

--

"No way." Mrs. Claus said, "The elves here couldn't make a simple rumor unbelievable."

Santa laughed, "Please. They might be thousands of years apart, but the elves have a lot in common with teenage humans. If anything, they know how to make a rumor unbelievable."

"But this about the head elf! They wouldn't want to make it unbelievable because if Bernard does find out they know he'd be mad." Judy protested.

Santa shook his head, "Doesn't matter. I remember when I was in high school I little rumor was going on about one of the quarterback's and a cheerleader. I thought it was boring, and a rumor can't really be traced back to the person who started, it so I thought _what the heck_ and made the rumor a little _juicer_."

"What did you do?" Abby asked. Santa shrugged, "I just said to one person that the quarterback got the cheerleader, who was already seeing someone, pregnant."

"Santa!" Judy said in shock. He grinned, "I can still remember the fight between those two guys." He shook his head, "Now do you understand?"

"Yeah. Santa was a liar." Abby said, crossing her arms. Mrs. Claus rolled her eyes, "Just because you made a little rumor even bigger doesn't mean the elves are gonna start saying Bernard got Trish pregnant. He only kissed her."

--

Trish's eyes grew so wide they looked like they might fall out. She fell out of her crouching position on the floor and simply fell back onto her butt.

_What? Is their a rumor going around that Bernard kissed me?! Don't tell me Mrs. Claus believes it!_

She scooted closer to the door to listen more.

--

Santa shrugged, "That might be true, it was just a kiss, but I bet if you asked around the factory now they'd start saying outrageous things."

The three girls stared a look.

"No way. I mean, we know the truth. Bernard kissed Trish in her sleep. If something bigger is being said, we can set it straight." Abby said.

"As long as Trish doesn't find out about this, then we have nothing to worry about, right?" Judy asked. Mrs. Claus nodded, "That's right. The people in the actual rumors are always the last to know. And there are a lot of elves. It'll take a while."

The three of them nodded and then Mrs. Claus excused herself when she heard Buddy crying in the other room.

--

Trish pushed herself up off the floor and slowly backed away from the door.

"Trish?"

She jumped in surprise and turned around. Curtis stood there holding some papers, a confused look on his face.

"Why are you crouching and backing away from Santa's door?" he asked. Trish stood up straight, brushing off the back of her faded jeans, "Um, I was just, um," she paused.

She shook her head, "I have to go. Sorry Curtis!" she said, running past him. He stared after her, and then walked into Santa's office.

Mrs. Claus walked back into the room with Buddy on her hip, and Judy and Abby were still sitting on the couch across from Santa's desk.

"I just saw Trish. Shes acting a little weird." He said as he walked over to Santa.

"You what?" Abby asked, standing up.

"Trish. She was crouching outside Santa's door then when I asked her why she ran down the hall." he explained, handing the papers to Santa, "From the Naughty and Nice center." he told him.

The girls all exchanged looks before covering their eyes with their hands and sighing, "Oh no." they all mumbled.

**.**

**That night**

**.**

Trish stood outside the front door of the house. A little white box was in her hands, wrapped with red string. Obviously the cake she said she was going to buy.

_What do I do? Were they telling the truth? Did Bernard kiss me? When? Where? Why?! Does he like me? Does he love me? Did he just kiss me because he was bored? Ugh, did he even kiss me at all?!_ She thought franticly.

She finally took in a breath, and looked down to make sure she looked okay. For some reason she was very nervous and worried about what she was wearing and if Bernard would like it.

Normal faded jeans and light brown ugg boots, a lavender tunic with her jacket and the hat Bernard gave her.

Finally, she found the courage to grip the handle and step inside.

The whole house seemed dead quiet. She threw off her coat and hat onto the coat rack and walked into the kitchen. She placed the cake on the counter and heard a door close.

She didn't turn around as she heard Bernard's foot steps hit the tile floor of the kitchen, "You're such a liar." he said, standing next to her and grabbing a cup out of the cabinet.

She didn't move her head, just her eyes, "H-Huh?"

"You said you were baking." he tapped the box, "Liar."

She stared down at the box. "Oh. Right."

_What's wrong with me all of a sudden?! I'm now extremely scared to even move! _

It became awkwardly quiet as Trish just stood there at the counter and Bernard pulled the water pitcher out of the fridge.

"Is something wrong?" Bernard asked. Trish started to undo the knot in the red string, "N-No. Why would you say that?"

He shrugged, "You're quiet. That's an automatic sign something is wrong."

Trish opened the box and stared at the chocolate covered cake.

"Well, I heard something today." she started.

"Like a rumor? Don't believe them. Most of the time they aren't true." he said, taking a sip of water.

"Right. _Most_ of the time." she mumbled, half smiling.

Bernard gave her a look, putting the pitcher back into the fridge. "You wanna tell me about the rumor?" he asked.

Trish finally turned around and leaned her hands on the counter. She sighed, "It was about…you. You and me." she told him.

Bernard stopped mid sip and gulped.

"I heard _someone_ say you kissed…Me." she said, staring at the floor.

_Curtis…you are dead! _Bernard thought angrily.

"Well, we both know that isn't true. We've never kissed." He finally said after a few moments in silence.

Trish nodded. The butterflies in her stomach doubling. "Well…" She paused, "Would you?" she asked.

He glanced at her, "Would I what?"

"_Kiss_. Kiss _me_. Would you?" she asked.

Bernard flushed a deep shade of red and quickly turned around to leave, "Please! We're friends Trish. I would never want to kiss you." He bit his tongue.

"We're friends. I never want to kiss my friends, I mean." He quickly corrected himself.

Trish nodded, even though Bernard couldn't see her.

"R-Right. Friends don't want to kiss other f-friends." She stuttered.

Bernard turned his head and caught Trish covering her eyes with one hand.

He quickly panicked, "Ah! I-I'm sorry!" he started babbling, running over to stand in front of her.

"I didn't mean it like that Trish! I just meant, um, I'm sure lots of guys want to kiss you. I just-I didn't-um," he kept stammering. He touched her hand that was covering her eyes, "Please look at me." he asked, sounding defeated.

Trish pulled her hand away and looked up at him.

"I didn't mean to say that. I'm sorry. I just-" he paused.

"It's okay." Trish mumbled. "A lot of people don't realize that boys are very much afraid of rejection from the ones they care about. But girls do too, sometimes even a lot more then the boys. This is just one of those times." she said, staring down at her feet.

Bernard gave her a look, "Huh?"

Trish shook her head, before gently pecking Bernard's lips. "I just wanted to try." she said, smiling a little.

Bernard quickly backed away and turned around, "That was unexpected." He mumbled.

She nodded, turning around and pulling the cake out of the box, "Sorry, I just wanted to. Don't think too deeply into it. After all, you don't kiss your _friends_."

Bernard felt a pang of guilt and he quickly turned around, "It's not like that!"

Trish turned around, "Then what is it like?!" she asked, growing angry. "I didn't say that so you could guilt me afterwards, okay?! If I like my friend like that, then I'd kiss her! But I don't have any friends like that!"

"Then how did those rumors start?" She asked, placing her hands on her hips.

"I don't know! We've never kissed before." he said matter-of-factly.

Trish rolled her eyes, "You keep saying that." she mumbled.

Bernard gave her a look, "What is that suppose to mean? You know we've never kissed."

She sent him a look, "I know. But do you?" she asked. He gave her a look, "What do you mean?"

"I heard Abby say you kissed me in my sleep!" Trish said through gritted teeth.

_Of course! Curtis probably told Abby first. He's been in love with her since the 19th century!_ Bernard thought grimly.

"You're going to trust Abby?" he asked.

"Why shouldn't I?"

Bernard clenched his teeth together, and threw his arms in the arm, "Fine! Alright, I kissed you in your sleep the other night! Happy now?" he asked, raising his voice.

Trish scrunched her eyebrows together and turned around, scooped some of the cake into her hands and threw it at Bernard, "Why didn't you just tell me, you idiot?!" She shouted, throwing littler pieces at Bernard.

He wiped the cake off his face and threw it back at Trish, "Because I thought wouldn't take it well! I wish right!"

She sighed loudly, pulling the pieces of cake out of her hair, "You weren't right at all! I'm not acting like this because you didn't tell me, I'm acting like this because your not man enough to kiss me when I'm awake!" she shouted back.

Bernard laughed sarcastically, "I'm sorry, _what_?!"

Trish huffed, "You heard me! You are not a big enough _man_ to kiss a girl when she's _awake_!"

"I am too!" He argued back.

"Prove it!" she shouted, stomping her foot. And, in the blink of an eye, he did. He quickly walked in front of her, an angry look on his face, grabbed the sides of her face and kissed her.

Trish, on the inside, grinned.

Once he pulled back, and grinned, "See?" he said smugly. Trish smiled and nodded, "Yes, I see mister man." and she pulled him in for another kiss.

Bernard was shocked at this, but did kiss her back.

The kiss grew deeper; Bernard's right hand gently holding the back of Trish's head and his left moving down and resting on her lower back and Trish's right hand tangled in Bernard's curls and her left arm on the counter.

Trish slowly reached to the destroyed cake and did her best to grab a hand full.

She ran her hand higher till it reached the top of Bernard's head, and his hat fell to the floor.

She smiled and they slowly pulled apart.

Right when Bernard was moving in for another kiss, Trish moved her left hand up and on top of Bernard's head, smashing the cake.

He grinned and shook his head, "How did I not see that coming?" he mumbled. Trish smiled and kissed the tip of his nose, "I'm just full of surprises, aren't I?" she asked.

Bernard gave her a look. Little did he know that Trish had that whole fight and kiss planned since she left the factory.

Before Trish could say anything else, Bernard grabbed what little cake was left in the box and smashed it behind her head.

"You are, but so am I." he retorted.

Trish shook her head and laughed, "Gosh, I love you."

He blushed deeply, "I-Ah-"

"Oh, shut up." She kept laughing, kissing him again. Bernard did. _I love you too._ He thought happily, hugging her closer to him.

____

**.**

**_The end. _**

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**A/N:**

**did you like it??? I really hope so.**

**i dont really have much to say about this. i just really hope u liked this story. and be perpared. their might be an epilogue ;) haha. anyways...yeahh...**

**_reivew_&fave plz i'd like some reviews as a birthday present :DD(you dont really need to alart. but their might be an epilogue so maybe alarting works too. haha)**

**tootles!!!**

**~Taylor**


	15. Epilogue

**A/N:**

**hey i'm back! and I'm back with an epilogue! :o gasp! **

**lol. anyways, enjoy. this was a fun chapter to write. :D**

**i do not own The Santa Clause. **

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**.**

**_Epilogue _**

**_._**

Bernard walked around the factory floor, hands behind his back, watching over the working elves.

It was July, and everyone was off their break and working for next Christmas.

"Bernard!" Curtis called, running across the factory floor. He cringed, _'and I thought I'd go the day without bad news.'_

He turned around, and glanced down at the shorter elf. "What is it Curtis?" he asked. Curtis took in a breath, "You have a visitor."

"That's it?" Bernard asked.

Curtis nodded, "They're waiting outside the factory doors."

"Wait. _They're_?" Bernard asked, slightly confused.

Curtis nodded, "They said they had to see you as soon as possible."

"What did they look like?" Bernard asked, hoping, more like _praying_, it wasn't the people he was thinking of.

Curtis thought for a second, "Um, boy and a girl. The girl had curly brown hair and the boy had black short hair-" he stopped mid-sentence as Bernard ran past him and up the stairs to the factory doors.

'_Why are they here?! What in all things Christmas came over them to come here?!' _he thought franticly.

He made it outside, but was surprised not to see the two faces in mind.

"Where'd they go?" he mumbled. "Bernard!" Curtis called, running outside. "What's the problem?"

He shook his head, "Nothing. I just have to look for them. You watch the shop until I get back." he quickly looked Curtis in the eye, "Don't mess up." he said sternly.

Curtis shook his head, "Please! I'm not like I was before! I've grown and matured."

"That was only three years ago." Bernard said dully.

"Don't you have visitors you have to find?" Curtis shot back. Bernard huffed and ran down the stairs and into the snow outside.

**--**

**--**

**--**

Trish walked out of the Blue Prints room, stretching her arms above her head. _'Phew! A whole days worth of designs done in half the time. I need a nap.' _she thought, yawning.

She made her way down the hall but bumped into someone, falling down to the floor.

"Ow," she groaned. She looked up and saw a girl, only an inch or two shorter then Trish, with frizzy light brown hair and a white sweater with a long pale green skirt.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she said, extending her arm to help Trish up. She accepted it and pushed herself off the floor. "It's alright. I wasn't watching where I was going." Trish said.

The woman nodded, "Um, do you mind telling me where the head elf's office might be?" she asked.

Trish shook her head, "Sorry, I don't believe he has an office. But if you need help finding him I can help you."

The woman smiled, "Oh, thank you so much! This place is so big I need all the help I can get. I'm Leah, by the way."

Trish smiled, "No problem. I'm Trish. Nice to meet you Leah. Just follow me, okay?" Leah nodded and the two of them walked down the hall.

"By the way, my husband is also looking for Bernard." Leah told Trish. Trish smiled, "Oh, how sweet! You're married? How long?"

Leah grinned, "Oh, about 1,801 years."

Trish's eyes got wide, "_Daamn_! I've been here on earth about 1,510 years and I can't image being married for that long."

Leah laughed, "Well, if you find the right person, you can spend that long with them. Christopher and I could never think of our time together as long. To us it seems like not enough. He and I live in the real world so even with our magic we have to worry about all sorts of things, so we're always together."

Trish glanced at the girl, _'She looks so familiar…where have I seen her before?'_ Trish thought.

Leah looked out onto the factory floor as they finally got to the railing. She grinned and waved her hand, "Christopher! Christopher, up here!" she shouted.

Trish looked out onto the railing and saw the person Leah was calling to. He was taller then most of the elves, but still an elf. He had short, wavy black hair and wore something similar to Bernard's style of clothing, minus the hat.

He made his way to the stairs and over to the two girls.

'_Wait a second…these too look a lot like…' _Trish gasped as Leah introduced Christopher to Trish.

"You're Bernard's parents?!" Trish asked, almost shouting to so the whole factory could hear.

Leah grinned, "Yup! We came here to surprise Bernard and his new girlfriend!"

"H-How did you know he had a girlfriend?" Trish asked.

"I figured it out. Plus Cupid told me." Leah smiled happily.

Trish sighed, _'Cupid can never keep his mouth shut, can he?' _she wondered to herself.

"Um, well then, it's nice to finally meet you." Trish said, extending her hand to shake. "I'm Bernard's girlfriend, Trish."

**--**

**--**

**--**

Bernard was about to pull his hair out. Where were his parents?! He looked everywhere they might be. From his house to their favorite Cocoa shop. They were no where to be found!

He walked back into the factory, arms crossed and eyes glazed over as he thought.

'_Why would they come here anyway? There is nothing new and nothing going on. I never got around to telling them about me and Trish but how in the world would they find out? Trish doesn't have their number so she couldn't have called them.'_

"Bernard!" a female voice shouted. He broke out of thoughts and looked to where the voice was coming from.

Mel ran up to him, her skates hanging from her shoulders. "What is it? Is something wrong?" Bernard asked, worried as to why Trish's boss had to leave the Blueprints room to talk to him.

"Nothing's wrong. I was just looking for Trish. Do you know if she went home? I need to talk to her about some of the designs she came up with." Mel explained.

"Nothing bad, I hope." Bernard chuckled. Mel shook her head.

"Sorry, but I haven't see Trish since this morning." he told her. Mel sighed, "Drat. Alright, thanks anyway."

Bernard watched as Mel walked past him and down the small steps to the factory floor. He looked around the factory floor, _'Where would Trish go other then home? I was just there and I didn't see her there or on the way back.' _

Bernard walked back outside of the factory and down the steps into the snow. He completely forgot about the fact his parents were somewhere in the Pole, and started to worry about where Trish ran off to.

The moment he stepped off the last step of the stairs outside, he cringed at what he heard.

"_Bur-Bear_! There you are!" a happy female voice shouted.

He looked over to the closest cocoa shop and saw her mother running up to him, locking him in the tightest hug imaginable.

"M-Mom! I-I c-can't _b-breath_!" He choked out. She let go of him, and started looking him up and down, "My, my, my! Is this really my little Bernie?!" she asked.

"Mom, its _Bernard_-!"

"Have you been eating?! You look so _thin_! And look at your hair! I thought I told you, you should cut it! It's getting so long!" She kept babbling.

Bernard looked behind his mother and saw Trish walking next to his Father; he had a smug look on his face and Trish was laughing at the little mother/son reunion going on in front of her.

Leah grabbed Bernard's ear and pulled him and peered into them, causing Bernard to yelp as he bent down slightly.

"Have you been cleaning your ears Bernie?" She asked. Bernard stepped back, rubbing his ear, "Yes! Every day, mom." he answered.

"Hey Bernard!" Trish said happily, walking up next to Bernard and Leah.

"Hello Dad, Trish." he said through gritted teeth.

'_Why is she with my parents?!' _he thought rapidly. "You wouldn't believe our luck Bur-Bear!" Leah said happily.

Trish crossed her arms and tried best to hide her laughter, "_Bur-Bear_?" she questioned, looking at Bernard and his father. Bernard rolled his eyes. _'Why did she have to use _that_ nickname in front of Trish?!' _

"After _Cupid_ was so nice to inform us of our _only_ son falling in love with someone we rushed over!" Leah continued. Bernard flushed and sent his mom a glare. Even though Bernard wasn't embarrassed of Trish herself, he was embarrassed of people gawking over the fact he was _in_ a relationship. He himself thought he'd never fall in love, and would think the strangest things if he knew about this a year earlier.

"And wouldn't you know it that we couldn't find you and instead your girlfriend," Leah paused and covered her mouth slightly, "who my son is living with out of holy wedlock," she mumbled, even though Bernard was close enough to hear it. Bernard gritted his teeth. _'UGH!'_ "And we've been chatting in that cocoa shop ever since! Isn't that great?" Leah finished.

Bernard pressed his fingers to his forehead and tried his best to hide his sigh.

"It was a pleasure meeting both of you. How long will you be staying?" Trish asked, taking a step forward to Leah and Bernard. Leah wrapped an arm around Trish's shoulder, "Oh, a week or two. Just to catch up and talk. I'd love to learn more about you and your life before you came to the Pole, Trish. After all, we've only spent the last hour talking about yours and my son's relationship." she said, leading her away from Bernard.

"Can you wait, please? I'd like to get my coat and join you." Bernard called.

The three of them stopped in their tracks, "Well hurry! Oh and put that nice boy, Curtis, in charge while you're gone! You probably won't be coming back to work today." Leah called.

Bernard sighed and nodded running back up the factory steps.

'_Out of all the people Trish could run into, she has to run into my parents! She only has that kind of luck! And I really hoped it would be just me and her tonight…' _Bernard thought, a frustrated look painted onto his face.

Bernard walked to the coat room and grabbed his coat out off one of the many shelves. It was amazing he knew which one was his, considering mostly all of the elves hung their coats and hats in the coat room.

He walked over to the door, stopping quickly when we spotted Curtis walking out of the of the rooms.

"Curtis!" Bernard shouted. When Curtis stopped to look at him Bernard continued, "You're in charge for the rest of the day now. I have to," Bernard paused, not all too happy about what he was going to say, "My parents are here and they want to talk to me and Trish. I have to leave." he continued.

Curtis paused then nodded his head happily, excited to be able to watch over the factory for the whole rest of the day while Bernard was away.

Bernard reached deep into his pants pocket with his left hand while he put on his jacket with his right.

He pulled out a small velvet box and placed it in his right hand while he slipped his left arm into the coat.

Opening the box, it showed a small, but very beautiful, diamond ring. One medium size diamond in the middle and two smaller diamonds on either side with the whole ring a silver color.

He smiled to himself, remembering his "_surprise_" for Trish, but then frowned at the thought of probably having to do it in front of his parents, especially his mother. She'd probably have a hysterical fit and call every elf in the North Pole.

He closed the lid of the box and stuffed it into his coat pocket as he made his way outside to his family.

"About time! Come on Bernard, I wanna hear more stories about you as a baby!" Trish called happily as she saw him walk down the steps.

"Yeah! Trish is really interested in your childhood Bernie! I like her!" Leah called happily, tightening her grip around Trish's shoulder.

Bernard smiled and rolled his eyes. _'It amazes me that I've fallen in love with this girl.' _he thought, putting his hands in his coat pockets and happily gripping the velvet box; that box holding an important key to his future with Trish. And this, he wasn't all that embarrassed to think about.

_The end. _

_

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_

**A/N:**

**did you enjoy like i hoped you would? I hope so! :D**

**anywayyy...yeah i told you Bernard's parents were gonna show up again! lol. **

**I like how i wrote Bernard's mom. shes kinda like the mom you see in movies or tv. the mom who had the silly nicknames for her children and loves telling silly stories about her kids when they were kisd and all that cheesy stuff. haha. and it does make Bernard wouldnt like the idea of Trish with his mom. i mean...she could tell Trish _every_ embarrassing thing about Bernard that Santa probably doesnt even know about! so i hope you dont think hes a little _too_ harsh. sorry if you do. **

**also, i'm learning how to multi task!!! because as we speak im writing my _HunnyxOC_ story for _Ouran high School Host Club_and an _Alice in Wonderland_story (based off the _Tim Burton _film). and i'll be posting them around the same time probably. _MAYBE_. i really wanna write both these stories and hopefully i'll do so. :D yay. lol. anyways...**

**_review_&fave!! (NO need to alart this story anymore. i wont really be posted any more chapters anymore since this is the _epilogue_. but do alart me as an _author_! :D haha)**

**tootles!**

**~_Taylor_**


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